SIT flags inducements influencing decisions
- CBI-led SIT says procurement officials and external experts were influenced through payments and gifts
- Remand memo indicates widespread manipulation across procurement and quality assessment layers
Tirupati: The CBI-led Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Tirumala ghee adulteration case has alleged that inducements to TTD’s procurement officials and external dairy experts played a significant role in shaping how suppliers were evaluated, allowed to participate in tenders and eventually continued in the supply chain even after failing quality checks.
A remand memo submitted before the SPE and ACB Court in Nellore outlines a network of payments, gifts and favourable technical opinions that, investigators say, influenced decision-making across TTD’s procurement and inspection framework.
At the centre of the allegations is former general manager (Procurement) R S S V R Subrahmanyam (A-29), who the SIT says received a Rs 16,700 silver plate in July 2021, a Rs 50,000 mobile phone at a plant inspection in December 2021, Rs 3.5 lakh between March 2022 and April 2023, and a 50-gram silver coin on November 8, 2023.
These inducements, the memo states, coincided with decisions that favoured Bhole Baba Organic Dairy, Premier Agro Foods and Sri Vyshnavi Dairy Specialities, including recommendations for additional supply quantities and exemptions from revised FSSR standards.
Another former GM, Peruru Jagadeeswara Reddy (A-28), is alleged to have received a similar 50-gram silver coin. Procurement official M Venkata Anil Kumar (A-26) is accused of accepting Rs 59,600 while supporting recommendations that allowed Bhole Baba to receive an additional 15 per cent allocation in tin and tanker tenders despite its disqualification in June 2022
The SIT memo also highlights inducements received by external dairy experts who played critical roles in plant inspections and technical evaluations.
M Vijay Bhaskara Reddy (A-34) allegedly collected Rs 2.5 lakh per plant inspection from Premier Agri Foods. Dr B Surendranath (A-35) and Dr K Jayaraj Rao (A-36) allegedly accepted Rs 50,000 Samsung phones each during a December 22, 2021 inspection at Bhole Baba’s Bhagwanpur unit. The same experts issued favourable assessments that enabled these dairies to qualify for tender participation.
The SIT assigns particular significance to the role of Dr Surendranath (A-35), a dairy chemistry expert and former FSSAI panel member.
When TTD sought his technical interpretation of the CFTRI adulteration report in August 2022, he allegedly offered ‘evasive comments’ that avoided confirming adulteration despite the presence of beta-sitosterol — a clear marker of vegetable oil.
Investigators say this response contributed to a climate of ambiguity that allowed further procurement from the implicated dairies.
Together, these inducements and expert endorsements created an environment in which procurement norms were diluted, inspections became favourable by default and ghee suppliers continued receiving approvals regardless of compliance.
According to the SIT, these actions collectively strengthened the supply chain through which adulterated ghee entered TTD stores over multiple tender cycles.
