ED Arrests Sukriti Foods Promoter in Tirupati Laddu Ghee Adulteration Case

The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Kailash Chand Mangla, a promoter of Sukriti Foods Pvt Ltd, in connection with an ongoing money laundering investigation into the alleged adulteration of ghee supplied to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD). The agency alleges the adulterated ghee was used to prepare the sacred Tirupati Laddu prasadam. Mangla was arrested on September 17 under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. He was subsequently produced before a special PMLA court in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, which remanded him to judicial custody. The Enforcement Directorate's investigation stems from a First Information Report registered at the Tirupati East Police Station. The FIR alleges criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, and corruption related to the fraudulent supply of adulterated ghee to TTD. According to the agency, the alleged irregularities involve ghee supplied to TTD between 2019 and 2024, with a total value of approximately Rs 230 crore. The Enforcement Directorate claims that Mangla manufactured adulterated ghee worth Rs 96 crore at his factory premises. The agency alleges the ghee was not made from pure cow milk fat.