The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Mandya district unit has demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into an alleged milk powder adulteration case at the Mandya District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Societies’ Union, known as Manmul, and warned of protests if the state government does not act.
BJP district unit president N.S. Indresh made the demand at a press conference on Saturday, alleging that the case had damaged the trust of farmers and consumers. He said the police investigation was not being conducted transparently and urged the state government to transfer the matter to the CBI.
Indresh said the party would lay siege to the Manmul dairy on October 7 if its demand was not accepted. If there was no response, the party would organise a padayatra from Mandya to Gejjalagere on October 10 or 11, with state-level leaders expected to participate.
The BJP also plans to write to Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah through the party’s state unit president, seeking a CBI investigation. Its demand extends beyond the current case to earlier allegations and controversies involving recruitment at Manmul, the establishment of the Mega Dairy and a milk-and-water scam, according to Indresh.
Manmul director and BJP leader S.P. Swamy said 57 tonnes of adulterated milk powder and another 55 tonnes of missing milk powder had a combined value of about ₹3 crore. He said the figure had been shown as ₹100 crore on social media, disputing that larger estimate.
Swamy also said the adulterated product was skimmed milk powder used in the preparation of sweets, and not the cream-rich milk powder supplied to schoolchildren. According to his statement, the Manmul board itself detected the alleged adulteration and filed a complaint with the police. He added that the organisation also wanted those responsible to be punished.
The allegations place a district-level dairy cooperative at the centre of questions about inventory control, product quality and the handling of suspected wrongdoing. Manmul links milk procurement from producers with processing and the distribution of dairy products, making the credibility of its internal systems important to both farmers and consumers. The source report does not provide details of the police case, the identities of any accused persons, or the status of the investigation.
The BJP’s proposed action now creates a further administrative milestone for the state government and Manmul. The party has specified October 7 for the planned protest at the dairy, followed by the proposed padayatra on October 10 or 11 if it considers the response inadequate.
