The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged embezzlement of funds at the Ram Temple on Thursday questioned Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust member Dr Anil Mishra over the counting of donated money and the appointment of staff involved in the process, sources said.
The three-member SIT reached the Ram Temple complex around 8.30 am and continued its investigation for the fourth consecutive day. According to sources, Mishra was questioned about the system for counting offerings and the recruitment of personnel associated with the exercise.
Amid the SIT probe, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is scheduled to visit the Ram Temple on Friday. According to the minute-to-minute programme issued by Ayodhya district magistrate Shashank Tripathi, temple trust general secretary Champat Rai has been asked to nominate a person who will arrange the darshan pujan for the chief minister.
The development comes a day after Rai was deposed before the SIT probing the donation row. Rai has traditionally been seen accompanying visiting dignitaries during earlier high-profile visits to the temple. He has largely remained silent since the controversy surfaced. Apart from a statement issued a day after the allegations emerged, in which he said internal audits were underway and that no evidence supporting the claims had been found so far, the trust official has not publicly commented on the matter.
On June 13, the Uttar Pradesh government constituted an SIT following a request from the temple trust to probe allegations of misappropriation of donation money. The SIT comprises Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, Inspector General of Police Kiran S and Finance Department Special Secretary Neel Ratan.
The probe follows allegations raised by Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, who, on June 7, cited reports claiming that crores of rupees from donations offered at the temple were missing and urged the courts to take cognisance of the matter. On Thursday, Yadav on X said Ayodhya would prove to be a “Kurukshetra” for those responsible for wrongdoing. He said the controversy had hurt local businesses and livelihoods dependent on temple tourism and accused the BJP government of being opaque about the investigation. Yadav demanded daily briefings on the SIT investigation, alleging that public trust in the agency had been eroded due to what he described as “widespread corruption under the BJP government.”
The fund embezzlement row has triggered political sparring between the ruling BJP and the opposition parties.
