Ram temple donation theft row: SIT finds repeated instances of employees concealing cash

Ayodhya: The SIT probing the alleged theft and embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple has found repeated instances of employees allegedly concealing cash during the counting process and flagged serious lapses in security and supervision.

The preliminary findings of the Special Investigation team (SIT) have been shared with the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.

During a press briefing after the meeting, trust treasurer Govind Dev Giri said the preliminary SIT report was read out before the trustees but was neither discussed nor debated. He also noted that the SIT's probe was still underway.


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According to the preliminary report, CCTV footage recorded between April 27 and June 5 showed employees inside the counting room allegedly hiding bundles of currency notes and loose cash in their clothes, pockets, shoes and other places on multiple occasions. The report refers to around 70 such suspicious instances.

The SIT said the alleged irregularities were not isolated incidents but appeared to be a repeated and systematic practice over several days. It found that prescribed security protocols were not followed in the counting room, with no searches conducted at entry or exit points, inadequate control over employees' personal belongings, cash from multiple donation boxes counted together and serious deficiencies in the recording and verification of valuable offerings.

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The report has named six persons whose prima facie involvement has been indicated -- Avinash Shukla, Anukul Mishra, Lav Kush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey and Ram Shankar Mishra.

All these accused along with two others are already under arrest.

According to the findings, nearly Rs 78.94 lakh was recovered from some employees before the investigation commenced. The report also mentions the recovery of around Rs 2.25 lakh from the counting room on June 4.

The SIT further said scrutiny of bank accounts of the employees concerned revealed cash deposits and financial transactions disproportionate to their declared income, warranting a detailed financial investigation.

The report also questioned the trust's monitoring mechanisms, pointing to serious shortcomings in security arrangements, CCTV surveillance, compliance with standard operating procedures, frisking of staff and supervisory oversight, which it said enabled the alleged thefts and embezzlement.

However, the SIT said allegations circulating on social media regarding the disappearance of valuable offerings such as silver bricks and other costly donated items were not substantiated at the preliminary stage. It nevertheless recommended strengthening the management, documentation and verification systems for valuable offerings.

The Uttar Pradesh government forwarded a copy of the preliminary SIT report to the trust on June 25, informing it of the findings. The report was appended to a release of the trust issued after its meeting on Monday, in which the trust accepted the resignations of its general secretary Champat Rai and member Anil Mishra amid the controversy.

The findings come amid a major controversy over the handling of donations at the Ram temple. Earlier on Monday, the trust accepted the resignations of Rai and Mishra, while appointing Krishna Mohan as the interim general secretary.

Trust treasurer Govind Dev Giri maintained that the preliminary report was only an interim finding, said the investigation would continue, and asserted that allegations regarding missing jewellery and other valuable offerings were unfounded.

He also displayed ornaments and other donated valuables before the media, saying they were safely preserved by the trust.

The SIT said its report is preliminary in nature and that further investigation and legal action will follow based on the detailed probe.

The Uttar Pradesh government had granted the investigation team a 15-day extension on July 1. The SIT was constituted on June 13 to investigate allegations of theft and embezzlement in the counting of donations at the Ram temple.