The ghee used to prepare Tirupati Laddu Prasadam was allegedly manufactured using palm oil, palmolein and various chemicals, the Enforcement Directorate said on Friday. The ED claimed this after arresting the ghee manufacturing company produced under money laundering charges.

The federal probe agency said in a statement that Kailash Chand Mangla of Sukriti Foods was taken into custody on September 17 by the Hyderabad office of the ED in connection with the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) ghee adulteration case.

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What did the ED find?

The ED alleged that fraudulent supplies during this period were valued at Rs 230 crore, of which Rs 96 crore worth of adulterated ghee was allegedly manufactured by Kailash Chand Mangla, promoter of Sukriti Foods Pvt Ltd.

The enforcement agency said that the adulterated ghee was allegedly made of refined palm oil, palm kernel oil, palmolein and chemicals including MG-90, monoglycerides, Myvacet Soft 400 and acetic acid ester. The fake food item was then sold to the Agmark Special Grade Cow Ghee to TTD.

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The agency then stated that the ghee was allegedly made using these ingredients and chemicals and was supplied in the name of cow ghee.

Company Maintained False Record

The adulterated ghee was then supplied to various entities, describing those as “front entities”, Mangla said. The company maintained a false record concerning the sale and purchase of ghee and palm oil to coceal the use of adulterants and maintain the company’s image.

According to the ED, Mangla was not only involved in the manufacturing of the fake ghee but also involved in the procurement of the substances used as adulterants and coordinating with its subsequent supply.

The ED had previously arrested Vipin Jain, promoter and director of Bhole Baba Organic Dairy Milk, on similar charges. With Mangla now in judicial custody, the ED has said its probe in the TTD ghee adulteration case has found alleged use of adulterants in supplies made as cow ghee for Tirupati Laddu prasadam.