Ram Temple Donation Row Sit Likely To Submit Preliminary Probe Report To Cm Today

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the donation-money controversy at the Ram temple returned to Lucknow from Ayodhya on late Saturday night and is likely to submit its preliminary investigation report to chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday.The SIT has instructed those under its scanner not to leave Ayodhya until the probe is complete.“Those already questioned by the SIT have been told not to leave the town until further orders,” a Trust official said.According to official sources, daily investigation records, including the questioning of Trust officials and other individuals linked to the probe, are being stored in digital form. The report will be given final shape before being submitted to the chief minister.Sources also revealed that the SIT’s probe was not confined to investigating the alleged embezzlement of funds but also extended to examining the Trust’s phased purchases in different phases and the procurement of building materials for the temple.According to people familiar with the matter, the Trust purchased about 71 acres of land at rates inflated by 500 to 800 per cent over market value.According to sources, one of the SIT’s major findings is that the Trust’s records of gold, silver, jewellery, and other precious stones, including diamonds, offered as donations, have raised suspicions. Trust office bearers were unable to give satisfactory answers to the SIT regarding these ornaments and valuables, the sources added.The names of 150 suspects emerged during the six-day investigation and action is likely against 25 of them, people familiar with the matter said.The SIT questioned Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu, said to be a long-standing associate of Champat Rai, general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, regularly. The team also collected information on his close associates, relatives, and their properties, according to people familiar with the matter.Over six days, the team meticulously examined several crucial aspects, including CCTV footage, detailed information related to offerings, the method of counting donations, and the process of taking money to the bank. On Saturday, the SIT obtained bank account details of all the suspects.After the probe, the team took all the evidence with it.Temple sources claimed that the major embezzlement took place during the Prayagraj Mahakumbh Mela in early 2025, when nearly 10 lakh devotees visited the temple daily over a two‑month stretch and donation boxes were filled with currency notes within just two hours, they added.Old records scrutinisedThe SIT also investigated the utilisation of funds from the temple’s donation boxes, unnecessary expenses, and matters related to land purchases. Old records up to 2021 were examined. Officials of banks where the Trust has its accounts were also questioned.According to people familiar with the matter two members of the Trust may be removed from their posts along the temple administration in-charge. ₹2 crore recovered so farBased on the disclosures of five people associated with the duty of counting donation amounts at the temple.— Lavkush, Avnish, Anukalp, Karune, and Ramshankar alias Tinnu — recoveries worth ₹2 crore have been made so far.Meanwhile, some clerical staff of the SIT stayed back in Ayodhya on Sunday.The state government constituted the three-member SIT on June 13 on the request of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.The SIT’s members are Lucknow divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, inspector general of police (Lucknow range) Kiran S and special secretary (Finance) Neel Ratan.