105 theft instances caught on CCTV: What SIR probe in Ram Mandir donation row uncovers | India News

The investigation into alleged irregularities in donation collections at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya identified 105 instances of unauthorised removal of currency captured on CCTV cameras, the Supreme Court was told on Monday, with the Uttar Pradesh government assuring the court that its special investigation team (SIT) had substantially completed the probe and would file a chargesheet by September 25.Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, told a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant that the SIT had assessed the role of every person allegedly involved in the theft and relied extensively on CCTV footage, followed by recoveries, forensic examination and audits. Mehta was assisted by senior additional advocate general Sharan Dev Singh Thakur.Also Read I Ram temple donation row: Probe in key stage, charge sheet likely soonThe September 25 deadline assumes significance as the statutory 90-day period for completing the investigation, reckoned from the first arrest in the case, expires that day. Mehta pointed out that the accused would become entitled to default bail if the chargesheet was not filed within the prescribed period.The bench, also comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, after perusing the SIT’s status report in court, directed that the chargesheet be filed before the jurisdictional additional sessions judge on or before September 25. It also directed the state to place a copy of the chargesheet before the Supreme Court.SIT probe into Ram Mandir donation theftThe three-member SIT, headed by Lucknow divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, was constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government on June 13 at the request of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, before the Supreme Court intervened in the matter. Range inspector general Kiran S and special secretary (finance) Neel Ratan Kumar are the other members.The SIT submitted its preliminary report to the state government on June 23, making several recommendations on tightening the system for handling donations and valuables at the temple. It submitted its final report in August, flagging “gross lapses” in the functioning of the trust that managed the shrine but exonerating two top former functionaries of the body.A second SIT set up by the apex court on July 20 – headed by Kiran S and also comprising DIG (Ayodhya) Somen Barma and SSP (Ayodhya) Gaurav Grover – is also investigating the allegations. The SIT submitted its report with the top court on September 16, a senior government official said on anonymity. The court, however, declined a request by senior advocate Ravi Shankar Jandhyala, appearing for petitioner Ajay Kumar Rai, for a copy of the SIT report.“The State requires to be transparent,” Jandhyala submitted.The bench said the relevant contents of the status report were summarised in its judicial order and that it did not want to take the investigation or proceedings out of the hands of the jurisdictional sessions court.At the same time, the court made it clear that the possibility of further investigation would remain open under Section 193 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.According to the report, the SIT used CCTV footage extensively to identify the accused, with the investigation subsequently relying on recoveries, forensic examination and audit material. The court noted that the primary offences under investigation included criminal breach of trust and offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act.The report also detailed the system followed for handling valuables and donations. Receipts for valuables were generated through software, while the articles were subsequently stored in a State Bank of India locker.Also Read I Ram Temple trust gets its first woman trusteeDonation theft accusations and arrestsThe controversy first surfaced on June 7 when Samajwadi Party leader Tej Narayan ‘Pawan’ Pandey alleged that donations worth ₹5 crore to ₹7.5 crore were siphoned off from temple offerings. On June 13, the state government set up the SIT. In its interim report, the SIT alleged that a portion of the offerings was siphoned off before being deposited into the temple’s designated bank account, leading to the arrest of eight employees associated with handling and counting donations on June 26.The FIR named eight people — Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu – besides unidentified persons as accused.The accused were arrested and booked for offences such as criminal breach of trust, cheating, theft and criminal conspiracy, along with Section 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Anukalp Mishra and Luvkush Mishra are related to each other, and also to former trust member Anil Mishra. Ram Shankar Yadav – an aide of former trust general secretary Champat Rai – and Manish Yadav are related. The police also seized ₹79,85,493 from the eight arrested men, recovering money from bathrooms, haystacks and cow dung cakes.Champat Rai and Anil Mishra were removed from their posts following the controversy, while a CEO-led administrative structure was subsequently put in place, with former military officer Jitendra Mishra appointed as CEO. Financial transactions' scrutinyThe SIT is also scrutinising the financial transactions and assets of the accused and their close relatives, including cash deposits, properties, construction work, vehicles, jewellery and expenditure on events, to determine whether they correspond with their known sources of income.The status report said physical verification of valuable articles was completed and no discrepancy found. This included 803 articles for which TCS receipts were issued and 86 articles that did not have receipts. The SIT also verified around 944.411 kg of silver sent for melting to the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL).Also Read I 'Need to learn from past but...': New Ram Temple CEO Jeetendra Mishra on donation theft caseThe investigation also covered specific donations referred to in media reports, including 200 kg and 38.288 kg silver bricks, a silver necklace, a pair of charan paduka and a donated copy of the Ramcharitmanas, the court was informed.As many as 173 witnesses were examined under Section 180 of the BNSS as on September 14, including trust functionaries, personnel involved in counting donations, bank officials, security personnel, CCTV operators, chartered accountants and vendors.