Ram Temple Donation Theft Case: Trustees Directed To Not Leave Ayodhya

Ayodhya: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged embezzlement of funds in the Ram Temple in Ayodhya has instructed the office-bearers of its trust and temple functionaries not to leave Ayodhya, according to temple sources.

The instruction by the three-member SIT was issued before they left for Lucknow on Sunday.

According to the temple sources, the daily investigation reports, including those related to the questioning of trust officials and other persons connected with the investigation, have been saved in digital form and the report will be given the final shape before being presented to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath.

At the same time, the SIT was sending reports of its findings to the Chief Minister's Office on a daily basis, they said.

Land Scam To Be Investigated

The sources said that the SIT's probe did not remain limited to investigating the alleged embezzlement of funds, but has also covered the purchases of land in different phases by the temple trust and also the procurement of building materials for the temple.

The temple trust had allegedly purchased land above the market rates. The issue had been vocally raised by different political parties, including the Samajwadi Party and Aam Aadmi Party.

On June 13, the Uttar Pradesh government constituted an SIT following a request from the temple trust following allegations of misappropriation of donations received at the Ayodhya Ram temple.

The SIT comprises Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, Inspector General of Police Kiran S and Finance Department Special Secretary Neel Ratan.

Limited CCTV Footage Pose Hurdle To SIT

Limited-period footage from CCTV cameras installed at the Ram Temple has posed a hurdle to the SIT investigation underway into the alleged embezzlement of donation funds.

According to sources, footage from these cameras is available for only 45 days, after which it gets automatically deleted.

The three-member SIT, constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government on June 13 following a request from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, has been investigating allegations of theft of temple donations.

Sources said investigators have also found indications of possible tampering with footage and are trying to recover deleted or altered data.

"The SIT will attempt to retrieve as much old footage as possible through forensic analysis," a source said.

Officials said any manipulation carried out in the past 45 days may still leave technical traces and can be detected through forensic scrutiny.

Sources said investigators have found several contradictions in temple workers' testimonies.

The probe was launched after Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav alleged theft of donation funds.

The trust has maintained that internal audits are underway and that no evidence supporting the allegations has been found so far.