Ram Temple Trust seized ₹80L 'stolen' cash before FIR filed
What's the story
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust recovered nearly ₹80 lakh in cash allegedly stolen from donation boxes at the Ram Temple before an FIR was registered by Ayodhya police, sources told the Indian Express. The information comes from a letter written by Champat Rai, the then general secretary of the Trust. In his letter, he said that the accused admitted to stealing and returned the money within four days of the theft being discovered.
Investigation initiated
Trust requested up government to form SIT
Rai's letter also revealed that the Trust had requested the Uttar Pradesh government to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter.
The SIT is now investigating the case.
The letter was submitted two days after an FIR was filed on June 25 and was treated as Rai's resignation by the trust, which accepted it on July 6.
Theft details
Theft was discovered on the night of June 4
Rai mentioned in the letter that the theft was discovered on the night of June 4 when a trustee was informed about the theft by five to six youths during donation counting.
CCTV footage identified some suspects by the next morning.
Instead of filing an FIR immediately, the Trust questioned these suspects first.
The accused and their family members returned the cash by June 8 and submitted written statements admitting their involvement in this alleged theft.
Upcoming preparations
Include independent auditor in SIT: SC
When the issue became public, the trust concluded that an independent inquiry was required and formally requested that the state government create a SIT.
This week, the Supreme Court asked the state to include a forensic auditor in the SIT constituted by the state to investigate the allegations of embezzlement of the donations.
The court also ordered the SIT to submit a status report on the investigation within two weeks.