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[SITUATION] · [ACTIVE]

2 clusters · 8 sources · 6 days · First seen 7 days ago · Last updated 1 day ago

Indian temple ghee quality investigations

Entities: Sri Vaishnavi Dairy Specialities Private Limited · Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams · Blinkit · K. Jayakumar · Crime Branch

Overview

In late July 2026, Andhra Pradesh’s Factories and Boilers Department began a departmental inquiry after allegations that officials accepted bribes to permit adulterated ghee from Sri Vaishnavi Dairy to be supplied to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) for its famous laddu. The probe also uncovered large stores of expired food in quick‑commerce warehouses in Tirupati, leading to penalties and warnings of licence cancellation.

Around the same time, the Travancore Devaswom Board in Kerala reported that six of thirty ghee consignments from the Milma dairy cooperative, intended for the 2025‑26 Sabarimala pilgrimage, failed quality tests. The Devaswom Minister ordered a Crime Branch investigation, mandated batch‑by‑batch testing and introduced a digital tracking system to monitor the supply chain.

On 31 July, the Crime Branch probe was formally launched. The board had contracted Milma to deliver 1.65 lakh litres of ghee in 30 batches of 5,000 litres each; only six batches were tested and all were deemed substandard. Authorities will examine whether tampering occurred before the consignments left the supplier or after arrival at Sabarimala. The government reaffirmed the requirement for testing every batch and the use of digital tracking, while board president K. Jayakumar pledged that future ghee will be sourced only from pilgrim offerings and denied any board involvement in the alleged irregularities.

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.

[● 3 SOURCES] Devaswom Minister K. Muraleedharan ordered a Crime Branch investigation into alleged irregularities in the ghee supply to Sabarimala temple. (minister statement)
[● 3 SOURCES] The Travancore Devaswom Board contracted Milma to supply 1.65 lakh litres of ghee for the 2025‑26 pilgrimage season. (contract details)
[● 3 SOURCES] Of the 1.5 lakh litres delivered in 30 batches, only six batches were tested and all were found to be of inferior quality. (inspection report)
[● 2 SOURCES] The government announced mandatory quality testing of each ghee batch and digital tracking of the supply chain. (government measures)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Travancore Devaswom Board president K. Jayakumar said the board will use only ghee received from pilgrims in future and will not purchase externally. (board president statement)
[○ 1 SOURCE] TDB president K. Jayakumar denied any role of the board in the alleged ghee irregularities. (board president denial)

Timeline

1 day ago

[CRIME] 6 sources
Sabarimala temple ghee scandal triggers Crime Branch investigation
A Crime Branch probe has been launched into substandard ghee supplied to Sabarimala temple, with officials ordering batch testing, digital tracking and future reliance on pilgrim‑donated ghee.
7 days ago

[HEALTH] 2 sources
Tirupati food safety probes reveal adulterated ghee and expired goods
Tirupati officials face a bribery inquiry over adulterated ghee supplied to the TTD, while municipal raids seized 600 kg of expired food from Blinkit and Instamart warehouses, leading to penalties.

Sources

bhaskarlive.in · deccanchronicle.com · greatandhra.com · ibc24.in · madhyamamonline.com · newindianexpress.com · senzabarcode.it · tennews.in

This summary has been updated 1 time: see revision history