"All will be produced in court": BJP's Lanka Dinakar 4 arrested over Tirupati Prasadam row

Speaking to ANI, the BJP leader said that all the arrested individuals will be produced in court soon. He further asserted that the investigation is ongoing in the alleged adulteration of prasad of the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Andhra Pradesh's Tirumala..

"...A special investigation team has been formed as per the Supreme Court's direction. They are collecting various evidence from across the country related to the ghee supplied to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam. In this process, yesterday, the SIT arrested Bipin Jain, Samil Jain of Roorkee's Bhole Baba Dairy, Poonambakkam's Vaishnavi Dairy CEO Apoorva Vinay Kant Chawda, and Dundigal's AR Dairy MD Raju Rajasekharan. All will be produced in court, and the investigation process is ongoing," Dinakar said.

"NDA-led Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has come forward to reveal the truth about the adulteration of laddu ghee. In the course of the investigation, an SIT was formed under the direction of the Supreme Court. They are gathering various pieces of evidence across the country related to the ghee supply," he added.

Reacting to the arrest of four people in Tirupati Laddu controversy case, TTD Board Member Bhanu Prakash Reddy said, "After having darshan of Balaji, lakhs of devotees consider the Laddu as the prasad of God himself. In that Laddu, during the time of the previous government adulteration was done...A 5-member CBI committee was formed to investigate the case. Last night, 3-4 directors of dairies were taken into custody and have now been sent to remand. Who all are behind this? Why this happened, all the details are going to come out. We have confidence that the people behind this will be strictly punished. More people in the matter of the dairy and other issues. During the inquiry, with evidence, we are going to prove and arrest them..."

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had arrested four individuals in connection with the adulteration of ghee used in the Tirumala Srivari Laddu, according to sources from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

The CBI, acting on Supreme Court orders, formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the matter. The arrested individuals are linked to organisations that supplied ghee to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), including AR Dairy from Tamil Nadu, Parag Dairy from Uttar Pradesh, Premier Agri Foods, and Alpha Milk Foods, as stated by the TDP.

Those arrested include Bipin Jain and Pomil Jain, former directors of Bhole Baba Dairy (Roorkee, Uttarakhand), Vaishnavi Dairy (Poonambakkam) CEO Apoorva Vinay Kant Chawda, and AR Dairy (Dundigal) MD Raju Rajasekharan, the TDP added.

Further, according to the TDP, the accused were interrogated for three days in Tirupati but reportedly remained uncooperative despite strong evidence against them. Investigations have revealed troubling allegations that animal carcass residues were found in the ghee, sparking outrage among devotees.

The probe, as reported by the TDP office, is being led by CBI Hyderabad Division Joint Director Viresh Prabhu, with support from Visakha CBI SP Muraliramba, DIG Gopinath Jetty, IG Sarvashrestha Tripathi, and FSSAI officer Satyakumar Panda. Inspections have been carried out at multiple locations, including Tirumala, Tirupati, and AR Dairy's facility in Tamil Nadu, the TDP said.

AR Dairy, which had a contract with TTD, has been found guilty of multiple irregularities. Joint Director Viresh Prabhu has been stationed in Tirupati to monitor the investigation, the TDP added. (ANI)