Archive · 19 Sep 2026
ED Arrests Sukriti Foods Promoter in Tirupati Ghee Case
The Enforcement Directorate, or ED, arrested Kailash Chand Mangla in a case involving ghee used for Tirupati laddus.
The ED says the ghee may not have been pure cow ghee.
Investigators allege that palm oils and chemicals were used to make it.
They say the product was then supplied to TTD as special-grade cow ghee.
The agency estimates that the suspected supplies were worth about ₹230 crore between 2019 and 2024.
It says about ₹96 crore of the alleged adulterated ghee was made at Mangla’s factory.
The ED also says companies and false records were used to hide what happened.
Mangla was sent to judicial custody after appearing before a court in Visakhapatnam.
The allegations remain subject to investigation and judicial proceedings.
The Enforcement Directorate arrested Sukriti Foods promoter Kailash Chand Mangla on September 17, 2026, in a money-laundering investigation.
Mangla was arrested under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and remanded to judicial custody by a Visakhapatnam court.
The ED alleges that ghee supplied to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams was made with palm oils and chemicals instead of pure cow ghee.
The agency estimates that allegedly fraudulent ghee supplies to TTD between 2019 and 2024 were worth approximately ₹230 crore, including ₹96 crore allegedly manufactured by Mangla.
Investigators are examining alleged front companies, false records, financial transactions and the movement of suspected proceeds; the case also includes an earlier arrest of Vipin Jain.
- Who
- The Enforcement Directorate arrested Kailash Chand Mangla, promoter of Sukriti Foods Pvt. Ltd.; the ED also previously arrested Vipin Jain in the broader investigation.
- What
- Mangla was arrested in a money-laundering case concerning allegedly adulterated ghee supplied for Tirupati laddu prasadam.
- When
- The arrest took place on September 17, 2026; the alleged supplies under examination date from 2019 to 2024.
- Where
- Mangla was arrested by the ED’s Hyderabad zonal office and produced before a Special PMLA Court in Visakhapatnam. The alleged supplies went to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams.
- Why
- The ED alleges that adulterated ghee was passed off as cow ghee and that related companies, records and financial transactions were used to facilitate and conceal the suspected fraud.
- Arrested person
- Kailash Chand Mangla, promoter of Sukriti Foods Pvt. Ltd.
- Arrest date
- September 17, 2026
- Investigating agency
- Enforcement Directorate
- Estimated alleged supply value
- Approximately ₹230 crore between 2019 and 2024
- Alleged production attributed to Mangla
- Approximately ₹96 crore worth of adulterated ghee
- Alleged ingredients
- Refined palm oil, palm kernel oil, palmolein, MG-90, monoglycerides, Myvacet Soft 400 and acetic acid ester
- Court action
- A Special PMLA Court in Visakhapatnam remanded Mangla to judicial custody
