Ram Temple donation irregularities: SIT gets 15-day extension as probe expands

THe Uttar Pradesh regime has granted a 15-day filename extension until July 15 to the three-member Special investigating team up ( sit around) probing alleged irregularities in the Ram Temple donation collections. Officials said investigators have additional time to expand the probe beyond the eight arrested accused and determine whether systemic failures, procedural violations and institutional negligence enabled the alleged embezzlement.Chief minister Yogi Adityanath approved the extension after the SIT sought more time to complete a comprehensive investigation before submitting its final report. “The government directed the team to submit its report by July 15,” an official said.Lucknow divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, inspector general (Lucknow Range) Kiran S, and special secretary (finance) Neel Ratan, the three members of the SIT, are expected to return to Ayodhya to examine how cash offerings moved from donation boxes to bank deposits and fix accountability at every stage.The SIT has shifted focus to the institutional framework that governed the handling of donations after the arrest of the eight accused. It will examine whether lapses of officials responsible for supervision and manpower deployment created conditions that facilitated the alleged irregularities.The SIT was constituted on June 13 at the request of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which manages the temple. It submitted its preliminary report on June 23, flagging prima facie irregularities in handling cash and valuables. A first information report was registered on June 25, leading to the arrest of all eight named accused.People aware of the matter said the expanded probe will cover the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) governing the handling, counting, and banking of donation money. Investigators seek to identify the officials who conceptualised, drafted and approved the SOPs. They would assess whether the safeguards were sufficient and determine how and why they allegedly failed.The SIT is expected to examine the role of State Bank of India (SBI) officials involved in designing and implementing the temple’s cash management system. Investigators will scrutinise whether bank officials merely failed to enforce prescribed protocols or whether any lapses amounted to criminal negligence or deliberate facilitation.Local SBI branch officials responsible for receiving, processing, and supervising the deposit of temple donations are expected to be questioned. Investigators will verify whether protocols were followed and if any warning signs were ignored.Trust functionaries responsible for supervising the donation management system will be under scrutiny. Investigators will examine the level of oversight, compliance monitoring mechanisms, and whether deficiencies flagged internally were addressed or overlooked.The investigation will focus on the agency entrusted with deploying manpower for the cash-counting operation. The SIT will examine how the agency was selected, the terms under which it was engaged, and the officials who approved its empanelment. It will probe whether it fulfilled its contractual obligations related to recruitment, background verification, supervision, and accountability of its personnel.The investigators will scrutinise the recruitment process of outsourced employees and whether police verification and antecedent checks were properly conducted, the training imparted before they were assigned sensitive duties, and whether the agency maintained effective supervision over its workforce.Police said the SOPs prescribed stringent safeguards, including mandatory frisking of everyone entering and exiting the counting rooms, deployment of dedicated security personnel, preservation of CCTV footage for 180 days, random inspections and dress codes prohibiting pockets in clothing to prevent concealment of cash.Preliminary findings suggest that several of the safeguards were either ignored, diluted, or inadequately enforced, allowing the alleged irregularities to continue undetected.