A three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the Uttar Pradesh government has reported major irregularities in the handling of donations collected for the Ram Temple. The final report reportedly pointed to serious weaknesses in the financial management of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
However, the SIT did not find evidence of personal misuse of funds or wrong intent against former trust general secretary Champat Rai and former trust member Anil Mishra.
SIT Finds Major Financial Management Lapses
According to officials familiar with the report, the SIT found a lack of proper checks, professional financial management and supervision at several levels.
The report also pointed to a mismatch between donation receipts issued and the money actually deposited into the trust’s bank accounts.
The SIT said the trust did not have a dedicated finance and audit team, proper procedures for donation collection agents or an effective system to regularly match the receipts with the amounts deposited.
Former Trust Officials Cleared of Misappropriation Allegations
The SIT reportedly found no evidence that Champat Rai or Anil Mishra personally misappropriated money or acted with dishonest intent.
Both former officials resigned from their positions on June 25 amid political pressure and allegations of financial irregularities.
Instead, the investigation identified Ram Shankar Yadav, also known as Tinnu Yadav, as the alleged main person behind the diversion of funds. Yadav was earlier associated with Champat Rai as an aide and driver.
Donation Money Allegedly Diverted
According to people familiar with the investigation, the SIT examined bank transactions, property purchases and investments to trace the movement of the allegedly diverted donation money.
The investigation found that Yadav allegedly used contacts with local donation collection volunteers to gain access to cash and cheques before they were deposited into the trust’s designated bank accounts.
The SIT reportedly found that some of the money was later invested in land and property in Ayodhya and nearby districts. Some funds were also allegedly used in private businesses.
Eight People Arrested
Eight people have been arrested in connection with the alleged donation fraud. They are Anukalp Mishra, Luvkush Mishra, Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu, Manish Yadav, Subhash Srivastava, Avinash Shukla, Rama Shankar Mishra and Karunesh Pandey.
They have been booked under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Prevention of Corruption Act for alleged offences including criminal breach of trust, cheating, theft and criminal conspiracy.
The police also seized ₹79.85 lakh from the arrested individuals. The money was reportedly recovered from places including bathrooms, haystacks and cow dung cakes.
SIT Questions SBI’s Role
The SIT also raised questions about the role of State Bank of India (SBI), where the trust’s main account was maintained at the Nayaghat branch.
According to the report, thousands of envelopes containing cash and cheques were sent to designated SBI branches. The SIT found that proper procedures for verification and reconciliation were allegedly not followed by bank personnel.
The report recommended that the matter be taken up with SBI’s senior management and that stronger procedures be introduced for handling large-scale public donation collections in the future.
Trust’s Financial System Criticised
The SIT reportedly found that the trust did not establish a strong system for collecting, recording and safely handling the large amount of donations received after the foundation stone of the Ram Temple was laid in 2020.
The responsibility for counting and verifying cash donations had been outsourced to SBI. However, the SIT reportedly said that proper supervision was not carried out, calling it an important procedural failure.
Earlier reports had also stated that six of the eight arrested individuals were employed by a Varanasi-based security agency that supplied manpower to SBI.
How the Case Started
The controversy came to light on June 7 when Samajwadi Party leader Tej Narayan ‘Pawan’ Pandey alleged that between ₹5 crore and ₹7.5 crore from temple donations had been diverted.
The Uttar Pradesh government formed the first SIT on June 13. Its interim report was submitted on July 20 and alleged that part of the donation money was diverted before it reached the temple’s designated bank account.
Following the investigation, eight people involved in the handling and counting of donations were arrested on June 26.
Second SIT Set Up by Supreme Court
The Uttar Pradesh government SIT submitted its final report to the state government and the trust on Monday evening.
However, another SIT formed by the Supreme Court on July 20 is separately investigating the allegations. This second SIT is headed by Kiran S and includes DIG (Ayodhya) Somen Barma and SSP (Ayodhya) Gaurav Grover.
The findings of the two investigations could provide further clarity on the alleged diversion of donation money and the responsibilities of the trust, bank officials and other people involved in handling the collections.
