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Ram temple donation theft row: Trust to decide future course after Supreme Court order
The petitions seek a CBI probe, forensic and CAG audits, while an SIT formed by Uttar Pradesh is already investigating the alleged embezzlement.
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The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust will decide its next course of action after the Supreme Court’s final order on the Ram temple donation theft allegations.
After the final order, a meeting of the trust’s advocates will be held and an action plan will be prepared as per court directions, Govind Dev Giri, the trust’s newly appointed general secretary, said in Ayodhya recently.
Petitions seek CBI probe, forensic and CAG audits
The Supreme Court is hearing a batch of three petitions seeking a court-monitored probe into the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple, including the demand for a CBI investigation, forensic audit and CAG audit of the trust’s accounts.
The trust has so far maintained that the donation system is transparent with receipts and accounting, and that it is cooperating with the probe.
Trust officials said they are awaiting final directions from the Supreme Court on aspects like receipt maintenance and accounting.
Also read: Ram temple donation row: Probe in key stage, charge sheet likely soon
Eight arrested after FIR over alleged embezzlement
After the allegations surfaced in June, the police registered an FIR on June 25 and arrested eight accused the next day. They were remanded in judicial custody, which, on September 5, was extended till September 18.
The next hearing will be crucial for the future course of investigation and audit mechanisms, after which Trust will hold a meeting of its legal team to prepare the next action plan as per court directions.
Also read: The ancient temples’ imprint on our culture
SC warns against politicising donation allegations
A Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, had earlier cautioned against politicising the issue, observing it is a simple case of crime commission and the court’s role is only to ensure a proper investigation.
Appearing for Uttar Pradesh government, solicitor general Tushar Mehta had informed the bench that the state had constituted a four-member SIT headed by IGP Kiran S to investigate the alleged embezzlement. Petitions have been filed by advocate Narendra Kumar Goswami seeking CBI probe and CAG audit, by advocates Ajay Kumar Rai and Dinesh Kumar Yadav seeking similar directions, and by RJD MP Sudhakar Singh seeking forensic audit of the entire finances of the temple trust.
They have sought preservation of financial records including physical documents, digital ledgers, UPI logs, bank statements, CCTV footage and DVR recordings. The previous Supreme Court hearing was on August 17.
