THE Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple here will conduct a re-audit of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust’s accounts for the past five years after the preliminary probe indicated large-scale irregularities, sources said on Friday. The re-audit will cover construction-related expenditure as well as jewellery and other gold and silver items received as donations, the sources said. The SIT will carry out a detailed scrutiny of the Trust’s financial records for the entire five-year period, the sources said. In another development, the Ayodhya Police questioned key accused Avinash Shukla after taking him into custody. Shukla, who was involved in donation-counting work, was arrested earlier in the case, and a local court on Thursday granted his police custody for 24 hours. Police sources said Shukla, from whose possession the highest cash recovery in the case has been made so far, is facing intensified legal proceedings.

 

The SIT has so far questioned Trust general secretary Champat Rai, trustee Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao, who has been associated with the temple’s construction and management. Rai and Mishra have tendered their resignations from their respective posts, and the Trust is expected to take a decision on them at its meeting scheduled for July 6. According to police sources, cash recoveries in the case include Rs 20.39 lakh from Shukla, Rs 18.07 lakh from Karunesh Pandey, Rs 16.82 lakh from Anukalp Mishra, Rs 14.25 lakh from Lavkush Mishra, Rs 7.32 lakh from Ramashankar Mishra and Rs 1 lakh from Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu.

 

Police have also recovered around 11 grams of gold, about 375 grams of silver and USD 1,121 during the investigation. Investigators also seized a donation box labelled “Ramrajya Kosh”, bearing a Paytm QR code, from a yoga centre in Ayodhya where Shukla had allegedly been staying for nearly a decade, the sources said. Fresh developments have emerged in the case, with investigators obtaining what is believed to be the first photograph showing two of the accused, Avinash Shukla and Anukalp Mishra, inside the temple’s cash counting facility. The image has become a significant piece of evidence in the ongoing investigation, as it places the accused inside the room where offerings made by devotees were counted and processed. Both Avinash Shukla and Anukalp Mishra are among the eight people arrested so far in connection with the case.

 

The other accused include Tinnu Yadav, Lav Kush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, and Subhash Srivastava. According to police sources, the accused allegedly exploited weaknesses in the surveillance system. Investigators claim that the CCTV control room was not being properly monitored during the initial period, allowing those involved to remove cash without immediate detection. CCTV footage reportedly shows some of the accused taking money from the counting area. Sources said the suspects initially attempted to avoid the cameras but later acted openly after realising that no one was actively monitoring the surveillance feeds. The alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple came to light on June 7. An FIR was registered on June 25 on the basis of a preliminary report submitted by the SIT constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government. Meanwhile, Bageshwar Dham chief Acharya Dhirendra Krishna Shastri on Friday expressed confidence in the investigation, saying those responsible for the alleged embezzlement would face punishment.

 

 

RASHTRIYA Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale on Friday said that the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya has “deeply hurt” the sentiments and faith of the entire society, and called for ensuring that anyone found guilty after the investigation faces severe punishment. Asserting that “anti-Hindu and anti-national forces” are seeking to malign the Hindu dharma by exploiting “this unfortunate incident”, Hosabale also called upon the entire Hindu society to display necessary patience and restraint during “this difficult moment” to thwart such “conspiracies”. “The unfortunate incident of theft in the donation boxes kept at the Shri Ram Lalla temple in Ayodhya has deeply hurt the sentiments and faith of the entire society and Ram devotees,” the RSS second-in-command said in a statement on X. “We are all extremely pained and angered by this event,” he added. Hosabale said it is natural for the entire Hindu society, including the RSS, to expect the Trust to treat this “highly condemnable” incident as an extraordinary matter and take effective steps to rectify all shortcomings in temple management and operations. This is “crucial” to ensure that the faith and reverence of crores of Ram devotees in the Ayodhya temple remain unbroken and steadfast, he stressed. Hosabale noted that “at the earnest request” of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, the Uttar Pradesh Government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and initiated legal proceedings based on its recommendations. It is “essential” to ensure that anyone found guilty after the investigation faces “severe punishment”, he said, emphasising that the current “state of confusion and uncertainty” must end.

 

He added, “In this regard, we expect the temple management and the government-appointed SIT to take all necessary initiatives.” He noted that the grand temple constructed at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi has become a centre of reverence, faith and devotion for the entire Hindu society owing to the struggles of generations and the dedication, sacrifice and “martyrdom” of crores of Rambhakts (devotees). “We are confident that through proper financial management, flawless and transparent operational systems, and an atmosphere imbued with purity, sanctity and true ‘dharmikta’, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust will continue to strengthen the faith and trust of the Hindu society,” he said.

 

“The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh also calls upon the entire Hindu society to display necessary patience and restraint during this difficult moment, and to thwart the conspiracies of anti-Hindu and anti-national forces seeking to malign the Hindu dharma and society by exploiting this unfortunate incident,” Hosabale added.