ED Arrests Ghee Supplier Kailash Chand Mangla in ₹230-Crore Tirupati Adulteration Case

Kailash Chand Mangla, promoter of M/s Sukriti Foods Pvt Ltd, has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Hyderabad Zonal Office in connection with the alleged supply of adulterated ghee worth ₹230 crore to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD). The arrest took place on September 17, and Mangla was produced before the Special PMLA Court in Visakhapatnam, which remanded him to judicial custody.

The ED's investigation stems from an FIR filed at Tirupati East Police Station, which cited criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, and corruption in the supply of ghee to TTD. According to the agency, Mangla's factory manufactured ghee using refined palm oil, palm kernel oil, monoglycerides, Myvacet Soft 400, acetic acid ester, and other chemicals, including M9-09. This product was then supplied as Agmark Special Grade Cow Ghee, intended for use in the famous TTD laddus distributed to devotees.

Between 2019 and 2024, ghee valued at around ₹230 crore was supplied to TTD, with approximately ₹60 crore of adulterated ghee allegedly produced by Mangla. The ED claims Mangla coordinated these supplies through several front companies, such as M/s Sri Vyshnavi Dairy Specialities Pvt Ltd, M/s Malganga Milk & Agro Products Pvt Ltd, and M/s A.R. Dairy Foods Pvt Ltd. The agency further alleges that Mangla maintained false records to disguise the use of adulterants and present the ghee as genuine cow ghee.

Earlier in the same case, the ED had arrested Vipin Jain, promoter and director of M/s Bhole Baba Organic Dairy Milk Pvt Ltd. The investigation into the adulteration and related money laundering activities is ongoing.