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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) of India has arrested Kailash Chand Mangla, promoter of Sukriti Foods, in connection with the alleged large-scale adulteration of ghee supplied for the preparation of the iconic Tirupati Laddu prasadam, the federal agency announced on Friday.
The arrest forms part of the ED's ongoing money laundering investigation into fraudulent supplies made to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the body that administers the famed Hindu temple complex in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. According to the ED statement cited by PTI, Mangla was taken into custody by the agency's Hyderabad office on September 17, 2026, and subsequently produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Visakhapatnam, which ordered him to judicial custody.
Investigators alleged that the adulterated ghee was manufactured using refined palm oil, palm kernel oil, palmolein and a range of chemical additives, including 'MG-90,' 'Monoglycerides,' 'Myvacet Soft 400' and 'Acetic Acid Ester.' The product was then purportedly sold and supplied under the label of 'Agmark Special Grade Cow Ghee' for use by the TTD in its laddu prasadam preparation.
According to PTI, the ED has estimated the total value of fraudulent ghee supplies to the TTD between 2019 and 2024 at approximately ₹230 crore. Of this amount, roughly ₹96 crore worth of adulterated ghee was allegedly produced by Mangla, the agency claimed.
The ED described Mangla as one of the alleged co-conspirators in the case, stating that he facilitated the procurement of adulterants and manufactured the counterfeit ghee at his own factory premises. The agency further alleged that Mangla coordinated the supply chain through several front entities, including Sri Vyshnavi Dairy Specialities, Malganga Milk & Agro Products, and A.R. Dairy Foods.
Investigators also accused Mangla of creating and maintaining false books of account covering the sale and purchase of ghee and refined palm oil, in an effort to conceal the actual use of adulterants and to project a legitimate cow ghee production operation to the TTD.
The agency said Mangla's alleged activities formed part of a wider conspiracy involving the supply of adulterated ghee to the TTD. Earlier, the ED had arrested Vipin Jain, promoter and director of Bhole Baba Organic Dairy Milk, in connection with the same case on similar allegations.
The Tirupati Laddu controversy has raised widespread concerns about the quality and composition of ghee allegedly used in preparing the famous prasadam, which is distributed to millions of devotees each year. The latest arrest comes as the ED continues its investigation into the alleged financial and supply-chain irregularities surrounding ghee procurement by the TTD.
Source: Business Today