The investigation into the sensational case involving the alleged supply of adulterated ghee to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams for making the famous Tirumala laddu appears to have become an unending saga, with the Chandrababu Naidu government ordering one inquiry after another.
In the latest development, the state government has ordered a departmental inquiry against officials of the Factories and Boilers Department over their alleged role in the supply of adulterated ghee to the TTD.
The government has appointed B Umamaheswara Rao, Director of Boilers, as the Inquiry Officer to examine the written explanations submitted by the officials facing disciplinary action.
Mohana Rao, Joint Chief Inspector in the Directorate of Factories, has been appointed as the Presenting Officer.
The inquiry has been directed to be completed within three months, after which a report recommending further action will be submitted to the government.
There are allegations that officials accepted bribes from Sri Vaishnavi Dairy Specialities Private Limited, located at Punabaka in Tirupati district, in return for granting and renewing licences and certifying the dairy’s operations.
Based on the recommendations of the Special Investigation Team probing the adulterated ghee case, the government initiated disciplinary proceedings in May against seven serving and retired officials.
Those facing action include retired Deputy Chief Inspector of Factories Karri Parameswara Rao, Factory Inspector N Shivashankar Reddy, retired Deputy Chief Inspector of Factories B Ramesh Babu, Deputy Chief Inspector of Boilers Medicherla Satyanarayana, and Boilers Inspectors M V L Narasimha Raju, T Sushma and P Rambabu.
After the officials submitted their written explanations within the stipulated period, the government examined their responses before formally appointing the Inquiry Officer and Presenting Officer.
According to the SIT investigation, officials of the Factories and Boilers Department allegedly received regular bribes from Sri Vaishnavi Dairy in exchange for facilitating licence approvals, renewals and regulatory inspections.
During searches conducted by the SIT, investigators reportedly recovered a diary from the dairy premises.
The diary allegedly contained detailed records of payments made to officials in several government departments, including the Factories and Boilers Department. It reportedly listed the amounts, dates and monthly payments allegedly made as bribes.
The departmental inquiry is expected to determine whether disciplinary action should be taken against the officials based on the evidence collected during the SIT investigation.
