Ayodhya Police question SBI officials in Ram Temple donation embezzlement probe

Ayodhya: The Ayodhya Police on Monday reached the State Bank of India (SBI) branch at Naya Ghat as part of the ongoing investigation into the alleged embezzlement of donations to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust’s primary bank account is maintained at the SBI branch, where investigators are examining the possible role of bank officials in the case. Police are expected to question the branch manager and record his statement as part of the probe.

Two SBI employees, Ratnesh and Gagandeep, are also under investigation. Both were on the bank’s payroll and supervised six outsourced employees responsible for counting donations and transporting the cash safely to the bank.

All six outsourced workers have already been arrested in connection with the case. Except for Subhash and Tinnu, all those arrested were outsourced staff assigned to handle the temple’s donations.

According to NDTV sources, the SBI had recommended the removal of the donation-counting staff nearly three months ago after suspecting irregularities. However, some officials of the temple trust allegedly opposed their dismissal.

Police have already recorded the statement of Champat Rai, former General Secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. Sources said notices are also likely to be issued to former trustee Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao as the investigation progresses.

Eight counting staff have been arrested in connection with the theft case, and efforts are underway to recover stolen assets from the temple donation boxes.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday declined an urgent hearing on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a court-monitored probe and forensic audit into the handling of donations and offerings received by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust over alleged financial irregularities linked to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

When the matter was mentioned before a Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Sheel Nagu, the PIL litigant pressed for an urgent listing, saying the allegations raised in the plea were “very serious” and expressing apprehensions over the manner in which the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government was dealing with the matter.

Meanwhile, in the ongoing criminal investigation, police on Sunday recovered jewellery and documents from the house of one of the accused after conducting searches at the residences of all eight people arrested in connection with the alleged misappropriation of donations and offerings at the Ram Mandir.

The FIR was registered on the complaint of a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust after a preliminary SIT report flagged multiple irregularities.

The accused were remanded to judicial custody till June 29, with police stating that further action would depend on interrogation and CCTV-based evidence.

IANS