Ayodhya Police question SBI staff in Ram Temple donation probe
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Ayodhya: Ayodhya Police on Monday visited the State Bank of India (SBI) branch at Naya Ghat as part of their probe into the alleged misappropriation of donations to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
Investigators are examining whether branch staff had any role in the case. The bank maintains the trust’s main account at the Naya Ghat branch; police are expected to question the branch manager and record his statement, officials said. Two SBI employees, identified as Ratnesh and Gagandeep, are under scrutiny. Both supervised six outsourced workers who were responsible for counting donations and transporting the cash to the bank.
All six outsourced personnel involved in cash-handling have been arrested; overall, eight counting staff have been detained in connection with the alleged theft. Police said searches at the residences of the accused recovered jewellery and documents linked to the investigation. Authorities are attempting to trace and recover alleged proceeds taken from temple donation boxes.
According to NDTV, SBI had recommended removing the donation-counting staff about three months ago after detecting suspected irregularities, but some trust officials reportedly opposed the move.
Police have recorded the statement of Champat Rai, the trust’s former general secretary. Sources said notices may be issued to former trustee Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao as the inquiry continues. The FIR was filed following a preliminary SIT report that flagged multiple irregularities, officials said.
Those arrested were remanded to judicial custody until June 29. Police added that further action will depend on interrogation outcomes and CCTV evidence.
Separately, the Supreme Court on Monday declined to urgently list a Public Interest Litigation that sought a court-monitored probe and forensic audit into the trust’s handling of donations. When the plea was mentioned before a Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Sheel Nagu, the petitioner argued the allegations were “very serious” and expressed concern over the state government’s handling of the matter.
(Inputs from IANS)