The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust and the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government while taking up a group of petitions demanding an independent investigation into the alleged misappropriation of donations collected at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant instructed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) handling the case to file a status report before the court. The bench also directed that records relating to the constitution of the SIT be produced.
Appearing during the proceedings, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the bench that the SIT’s status report would be submitted in a sealed cover. The court has scheduled the matter for further consideration next Monday.
The petitions filed before the Supreme Court call for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry, a forensic audit and a court-supervised investigation into the alleged theft of offerings made by devotees at the Ram Temple.
The issue came to the forefront after allegations emerged of irregularities in the counting and management of donations received at the temple. In response to the growing controversy, the Uttar Pradesh government constituted an SIT to investigate the matter. An FIR was later lodged, and police arrested several individuals in connection with the alleged offence, including Tinnu Yadav, whom investigators identified as a close aide of former Ram Temple Trust General Secretary Champat Rai.
In the aftermath of these developments, Champat Rai stepped down from his post, and the trust accepted his resignation. Trust member Anil Mishra also resigned from his position.
A preliminary probe conducted by the SIT is reported to have uncovered significant security shortcomings in the temple’s donation counting room. The inquiry found that staff members allegedly hid cash in their clothes, pockets, shoes and other personal belongings. Investigators are now examining whether the alleged siphoning of devotees’ donations was carried out in an organised manner over a prolonged period.
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