Lucknow: Investigation into the alleged misappropriation of donations at Ayodhya’s Ram Temple has now widened to include land purchases made for the temple complex. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has begun examining property deals linked to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
ThePrint has learnt that the investigating agencies have also prepared a list of middlemen who were allegedly involved in the trust’s purchase of Nazul land (state-owned land used for public infrastructure). They have been asked to cooperate with the probe.
The Uttar Pradesh government has extended the tenure of the SIT, which was originally constituted to probe the alleged donation theft case. The team reached Ayodhya Thursday, and is now expected to conduct a detailed investigation into the trust’s land purchases as well.
One senior UP government official told ThePrint that the SIT’s preliminary report mentions the alleged theft of donations at the Ram Temple. However, the investigation now appears to be expanding beyond the theft itself, as several local residents have raised questions over a number of land transactions allegedly involving trust functionaries or their close aides.
“The case no longer seems confined to the alleged donation theft. There are allegations surrounding land deals linked to individuals associated with the trust, and the SIT is likely to examine those transactions as part of its investigation,” the official said.
Recently Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh handed over documents and a formal complaint related to alleged irregularities in land transactions to the SIT. Singh alleged that serious irregularities took place in the purchase of land for the Ram Temple Trust and claimed to possess documents relating to 13 land transactions that point to financial wrongdoing.
“The theft of donations and offerings has hurt the faith of crores of devotees,” Singh told reporters after meeting the SIT chief on 26 June. He said he submitted 11 sets of documents because two of the alleged transactions were interconnected.
Singh alleged that a piece of Nazul land, valued at around Rs 3 crore, was purchased by the trust for Rs 24 crore even though such land cannot legally be sold.
“How could the trust spend donation money to purchase Nazul land for Rs 24 crore when such land cannot legally be bought or sold?” he asked. He said the documents submitted to the SIT include records linked to former Ayodhya Mayor Hrishikesh Upadhyay of the BJP and his nephew Deep Narayan.
Singh further alleged that the trust suffered financial losses because land was purchased at highly inflated prices.
In another transaction on 18 March 2021, he alleged that land valued at Rs 4.97 crore was purchased by the trust for Rs 8 crore. According to Singh, both former Mayor Hrishikesh Upadhyay and trust member Anil Mishra were witnesses to these sale deeds.
Referring to one transaction that he had earlier raised publicly, Singh claimed that in March 2021, Sultan Ansari and Ravi Mohan Tiwari purchased a parcel of land from Kusum Pathak and Harish Pathak for Rs 2 crore and sold the same property to the trust just five minutes later for Rs 18.5 crore. He claimed that both former Mayor Hrishikesh Upadhyay and trust member Anil Mishra were witnesses to this sale too.
Sanjay Singh said he had been demanding an independent investigation into the land transactions for a long time and alleged that irregularities extended beyond the alleged theft of temple donations to the acquisition of land using trust funds.
During the land controversy that surfaced in 2021, the Uttar Pradesh government had constituted a committee to examine the allegations. However, its report has never been made public.
On Friday, the SIT questioned witnesses to the registered sale deeds related to land purchased by the trust and recorded their statements.
After nearly six hours of investigation inside the temple complex Thursday, the SIT moved to a guest house on the banks of the Saryu River before resuming its inquiry Friday.
Properties of trust-linked individuals under scanner
According to SIT sources, investigators may question all individuals associated with the trust as part of the widening probe. Police are also examining the assets of those under investigation and are collecting property records and registration documents linked to properties in Ayodhya, Lucknow, Noida and other states.
Sources said that if investigators uncover evidence of disproportionate or suspicious assets, questioning may not be limited to trust general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra, but could extend to other senior functionaries as well.
Investigators are also examining whether trust funds and donations were diverted to individuals or entities beyond the temple administration.
According to SIT sources, Champat Rai and several others were questioned again Friday. The SIT had reportedly directed them to bring important documents related to the land acquisitions.
As general secretary of the trust, Champat Rai signed registration documents for several land purchases made by the trust. Investigators are expected to question him about these transactions and the approval process.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: RSS breaks silence on Ram Temple theft—‘severe punishment, thwart conspiracies of anti-Hindu forces’
Land is such a messy affair in India.
Perhaps, we need to stop land purchases and promote land leases, where rent is paid to the landowner.
Purchase should be done on some stock exchange like system.