Lucknow: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged irregularities in donations at the Ayodhya Ram Temple submitted its final report to the Uttar Pradesh government Tuesday, giving a clean chit to former Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai. But the probe will continue against trustee Anil Mishra who was handling an important segment of temple management.
A source in the SIT told ThePrint, “Champat Rai had no direct or indirect involvement in the alleged theft and no evidence linking him to the offence was found during the investigation. The source said that although accused Tinnu Yadav was considered a close aide of Rai, the SIT found no evidence against Rai himself.
However, the source said no clean chit has been given to Anil Mishra so far. “Lavkush Mishra, Anukalp Mishra and a few other accused were close to Anil Mishra. He remains under scrutiny as a substantial part of the temple’s management was under his supervision. Most of these employees were hired on his recommendations. Therefore, the SIT has not given him a clean chit as of now,” the source said.
As per functionaries at the chief minister’s office, the UP Home Department has forwarded the SIT’s final report, along with recommendations on the action necessary, to the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir Teerth Kshetra Trust. The report was prepared by the SIT constituted by the state government before the Supreme Court intervened in the matter.
Rai and Mishra resigned from their respective positions last month amid the donation controversy and later the temple trust accepted their resignations and named retired IFS officer and Trust member Krishna Mohan acting general secretary in place of Rai.
Krishna Mohan was also the person whose complaint led the Ayodhya Police to register an FIR in the alleged donation theft case.
The SIT was constituted by the state government on 13 June at the request of the Temple Trust. The three-member team was headed by Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant and included IG Range Kiran S. and Special Secretary (Finance) Neel Ratan Kumar as members. The SIT submitted its preliminary report to the government on 23 June, making several recommendations.
Based on the preliminary report, the first FIR in the case was registered on 25 June at the Ram Janmabhoomi police station. The FIR, Crime No. 90/2026, was registered on the written complaint of Trust member Krishna Mohan and named Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Luvkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Shri Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu, besides other unidentified persons.
The accused were booked under various sections of BNS including sections 305 (theft in a place of worship or other specified premises), 306(5), (theft after criminal breach of trust in specified professional or official capacity), and offences relating to stolen property (Sections 317(4) and 317(5)), Section 61 ( criminal conspiracy), Section 3(5) (common intention), Section 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which deals with criminal misconduct by a public servant involving dishonest or fraudulent misappropriation.
How the controversy began
The controversy surfaced after an audit conducted by the Ram Temple Trust reportedly indicated possible discrepancies involving cash and other items collected through donation boxes.
Following the audit, CCTV footage from the temple premises and donation collection areas was reviewed. Investigators reportedly found the conduct of an employee suspicious, prompting an internal inquiry. The matter was initially kept confidential.
The issue gained wider political attention on 7 June after Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav criticised the Yogi Adityanath government over the allegations.
Addressing a press conference, Yadav said reports of theft of offerings at the temple were a matter of serious concern. Targeting the state government, he said, “If there is theft in donations, complaints are bound to follow.”
Soon after Yadav’s statement, a video emerged in which Mahipal Singh, who claimed to be the accounts in-charge at the Ram Temple, alleged that he had caught members of a bank team manipulating the handling of cash donations during the counting process.
Earlier, Trust general secretary Champat Rai had maintained that no irregularities had been detected in the handling of temple donations. He later refrained from making public comments on the matter. Trust officials subsequently coordinated with the SIT and provided administrative support to facilitate the investigation.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: ‘We will pray, but not donate’: How Ram Temple donation theft row is affecting Ayodhya’s livelihood