New Delhi: Following allegations of misappropriation of donations worth crores of rupees received in the Ram temple of Ayodhya, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Uttar Pradesh government has intensified its investigation in the temple. The team closely examined the entire process from opening the donation boxes to depositing the money in the bank. A three-member team led by Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant reached the temple and investigated for more than 8 hours. This investigation has been started on the orders of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath after Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav made allegations.
The donation boxes are taken to a special room of the temple trust. After this, a private agency appointed by State Bank of India (SBI) counts the money. About 50 employees are engaged in this work, on whom Trust officials and bank employees are also present to keep an eye. The SIT has collected CCTV footage of the money counting room, records of the movement of employees and information about those who have been hired or left the job in the last one year.
The main objective of the investigation is to find out whether there is any difference between the money withdrawn from donation boxes and the amount deposited in bank accounts. Earlier, the police had detained a temple employee involved in counting the money. According to reports, lakhs of rupees were also found in the search of his house. The investigation team has been given 15 days to submit its final report to the government. To ensure that the investigation continues smoothly, SIT has set up a temporary office in the Ram Mandir complex itself.
