Saurabh Mukherjee
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government to examine allegations of embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya began its inquiry on Monday (June 15), spending nearly eight hours at the temple complex and focusing on the process through which offerings have been counted and secured since the shrine opened to devotees in January 2024.
The three-member team reached the temple premises in separate vehicles through gate number 11 at 2.53 pm and headed directly to the cash-counting room. The investigators remained at the complex until after 10.30 pm and stayed overnight in Ayodhya.
The SIT plans to establish a camp office within the Ram temple complex to facilitate a smooth investigation and ensure that it is completed within the prescribed timeline.
The team sought records relating to all personnel engaged by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for counting donations since January 23, 2024, a day after the consecration ceremony. It also inspected the vault where cash was stored after counting and examined registers maintaining daily records of the collections.
According to reports, the investigators scrutinised CCTV data boxes and obtained footage to study the counting procedure. They also sought information on whether any surveillance footage had ever been deleted and the duration for which the data is retained.
The SIT further sought the names and addresses of all personnel deployed in cash-counting operations over the years, along with details of the trust members, as it prepares for further questioning. The probe panel comprises Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, Inspector General of Police (Lucknow Range) Kiran S and Special Secretary (Finance) Neel Ratan.
The panel is expected to submit a preliminary report to the state government within seven days and a final report within 15 days.
According to those aware of the inquiry, investigators are also examining the financial status of employees assigned to count offerings after they were engaged by the trust.
Another aspect under scrutiny is whether any of them have familial or close links with members of the trust. The initial findings are likely to focus on alleged theft of offerings, oversight mechanisms and fixing accountability, although the scope of the probe may widen later.
Many employees associated with the trust have reportedly welcomed the investigation.
The controversy has, meanwhile, assumed political dimensions and opened up a new line of attack against the BJP over one of its most significant ideological projects. Opposition parties, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, have directly targeted the functioning of the trust managing the temple.
In a direct attack on the Uttar Pradesh government setting up an SIT to probe the allegations of fraud, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said on X Monday: “The BJP’s corrupt rule is unfortunate; the state should be getting an IIT, but instead it is getting an SIT.”
It was the Samajwadi Party that had initially raised allegations regarding the alleged misuse of donations received from devotees at the temple.
Akhilesh Yadav also sought to put pressure on the Prime Minister and the BJP-led government by offering “assistance” to the police investigation, suggesting that those responsible “were not very far”.
For years, the BJP maintained that the Ram temple was constructed by an independent trust in accordance with the Supreme Court's directions. However, with questions now being raised over the functioning of the trust and allegations surfacing against individuals associated with it, the argument that the trust did not oversee the temple’s daily affairs has come under renewed scrutiny.
Referring to a Dainik Bhaskar report that detailed the alleged functioning of the trust and estimated losses at Rs 200 crore, the Congress accused the BJP and RSS of betraying devotees' faith.
“This is clearly daylight robbery of faith. The faith of millions of devotees is tied to the Ram Temple. People from BJP and RSS have hurt their faith through this donation theft,” said the party’s post.
Calls have also grown for an independent investigation into the trust and its key office-bearers, including Champat Rai. AAP MP Sanjay Singh has argued that since the trust was constituted by the Government of India following the Supreme Court verdict and because the Prime Minister’s Office exercises oversight, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot distance himself from the issue.
Citing allegations that more than 50 temple employees were involved in siphoning off offerings and raising concerns over previous land deals involving the trust, Singh has demanded a comprehensive inquiry, dissolution of the existing body and the appointment of what he described as “honest and impartial members”.
The three-member team reached the temple premises in separate vehicles through gate number 11 at 2.53 pm and headed directly to the cash-counting room. The investigators remained at the complex until after 10.30 pm and stayed overnight in Ayodhya.
The SIT plans to establish a camp office within the Ram temple complex to facilitate a smooth investigation and ensure that it is completed within the prescribed timeline.
The team sought records relating to all personnel engaged by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for counting donations since January 23, 2024, a day after the consecration ceremony. It also inspected the vault where cash was stored after counting and examined registers maintaining daily records of the collections.
According to reports, the investigators scrutinised CCTV data boxes and obtained footage to study the counting procedure. They also sought information on whether any surveillance footage had ever been deleted and the duration for which the data is retained.
The SIT further sought the names and addresses of all personnel deployed in cash-counting operations over the years, along with details of the trust members, as it prepares for further questioning. The probe panel comprises Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, Inspector General of Police (Lucknow Range) Kiran S and Special Secretary (Finance) Neel Ratan.
The panel is expected to submit a preliminary report to the state government within seven days and a final report within 15 days.
According to those aware of the inquiry, investigators are also examining the financial status of employees assigned to count offerings after they were engaged by the trust.
Another aspect under scrutiny is whether any of them have familial or close links with members of the trust. The initial findings are likely to focus on alleged theft of offerings, oversight mechanisms and fixing accountability, although the scope of the probe may widen later.
Many employees associated with the trust have reportedly welcomed the investigation.
The controversy has, meanwhile, assumed political dimensions and opened up a new line of attack against the BJP over one of its most significant ideological projects. Opposition parties, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, have directly targeted the functioning of the trust managing the temple.
In a direct attack on the Uttar Pradesh government setting up an SIT to probe the allegations of fraud, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said on X Monday: “The BJP’s corrupt rule is unfortunate; the state should be getting an IIT, but instead it is getting an SIT.”
भाजपा का भ्रष्ट-शासनकाल दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण है, प्रदेश में बननी चाहिए ‘IIT’; पर बन रही है ‘SIT’।
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) June 15, 2026
It was the Samajwadi Party that had initially raised allegations regarding the alleged misuse of donations received from devotees at the temple.
Akhilesh Yadav also sought to put pressure on the Prime Minister and the BJP-led government by offering “assistance” to the police investigation, suggesting that those responsible “were not very far”.
For years, the BJP maintained that the Ram temple was constructed by an independent trust in accordance with the Supreme Court's directions. However, with questions now being raised over the functioning of the trust and allegations surfacing against individuals associated with it, the argument that the trust did not oversee the temple’s daily affairs has come under renewed scrutiny.
Referring to a Dainik Bhaskar report that detailed the alleged functioning of the trust and estimated losses at Rs 200 crore, the Congress accused the BJP and RSS of betraying devotees' faith.
“This is clearly daylight robbery of faith. The faith of millions of devotees is tied to the Ram Temple. People from BJP and RSS have hurt their faith through this donation theft,” said the party’s post.
Calls have also grown for an independent investigation into the trust and its key office-bearers, including Champat Rai. AAP MP Sanjay Singh has argued that since the trust was constituted by the Government of India following the Supreme Court verdict and because the Prime Minister’s Office exercises oversight, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot distance himself from the issue.
Citing allegations that more than 50 temple employees were involved in siphoning off offerings and raising concerns over previous land deals involving the trust, Singh has demanded a comprehensive inquiry, dissolution of the existing body and the appointment of what he described as “honest and impartial members”.
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