Tirupati Laddu Scandal: ED Says Palm‑Oil Ghee Used in Prasadam, Promoter Nabbed

The Enforcement Directorate’s Hyderabad wing has dropped a bombshell on the sacred kitchens of Tirumala. According to its latest statement, the ghee used to churn the famed Tirupati laddu between 2019 and 2024 was not the pure, butter‑fat‑rich cow ghee that devotees expect. Instead, investigators say it was a concoction of refined palm oil, palm kernel oil, palmolein and a handful of industrial chemicals such as MG‑90, Myvacet Soft 400, monoglycerides and acetic acid esters.

That’s not all. The agency alleges the mixture was deliberately labelled as “AGMARK special‑grade cow ghee” and supplied to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) for making the prasadam. In other words, the holy offering may have been built on a recipe that looks more like a kitchen shortcut than a ritual‑grade ingredient.

Adding to the drama, the ED says the fraudulent supplies were worth roughly ₹230 crore. Of this, about ₹96 crore of the adulterated ghee is traced back to a single factory owned by Kailash Chand Mangla, the promoter of Sukriti Foods. Mangla was taken into custody on Thursday, presented before a special PMLA court in Visakhapatnam and then sent to judicial custody.

According to the directorate, Mangla didn’t work alone. He allegedly funneled the palm‑oil‑based ghee through a chain of companies – Sri Vyshnavi Dairy Specialities, Malganga Milk & Agro Products and A.R. Dairy Foods – to mask the true nature of the product. Fake purchase‑sale records were reportedly crafted to make the whole operation look like a legitimate cow‑ghee trade.

The investigation, which is framed as a money‑laundering probe, is still underway. It follows a previous arrest of Vipin Jain, promoter of Bhole Baba Organic Dairy Milk, on similar allegations. Meanwhile, the TTD and devotees are left grappling with the unsettling possibility that a beloved religious sweet may have been made with industrial palm oil rather than sacred cow butter.

As the case unfolds, the Supreme Court has ordered an independent SIT to look into claims that animal fat was used in the laddus, and the health ministry has asked for a detailed report on any such presence. For now, the controversy continues to ripple through temples, politics and the media alike.