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Ram temple donation row: SIT probe widens to jewellery trail
Investigators scrutinise records of gold and silver offerings allegedly sent for melting; cash, foreign currency and precious metal recovered during arrest of eight men and key accused Avinash Shukla’s subsequent police custody become key evidence
The Uttar Pradesh government’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the alleged misappropriation of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya has expanded its probe beyond cash transactions to include gold and silver ornaments offered by devotees, after several donors alleged that jewellery donated at the shrine had also gone missing.
According to people familiar with the investigation, the three-member SIT is attempting to verify the complete trail of jewellery donations from the time they were received at the temple until their alleged conversion into bullion. However, investigators are reportedly struggling to obtain complete documentary records relating to the receipt, storage, transportation and melting of precious metal offerings.
During questioning, Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu, one of the eight men arrested in the case, is learnt to have told investigators that gold and silver ornaments received as offerings were sent to Bengaluru for melting. The SIT is now examining who authorised the decision to melt devotees’ jewellery, whether the process had the approval of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust and whether proper records were maintained throughout the exercise.
Investigators are also examining whether ornaments donated by devotees should have been preserved in their original form instead of being converted into bullion. The issue has assumed significance as the SIT is yet to reconcile the quantity of jewellery allegedly received from devotees with the gold and silver bars presently claimed to be stored in bank lockers.
People familiar with the matter said that when investigators recently sought records relating to jewellery donations, only limited documents could be produced. While officials informed the SIT that gold and silver bars were lying in bank lockers, investigators have so far not been able to establish a complete audit trail linking the ornaments donated by devotees with the bullion presently available. The absence of comprehensive documentation has become one of the major areas of investigation.
The jewellery trail has gained further importance after substantial recoveries made during the arrests of the eight accused and subsequent recoveries during the police custody remand of key accused Avinash Shukla.
According to recovery proceedings prepared during Avinash Shukla’s custody remand on June 26, police recovered ₹20,39,220 in cash allegedly kept in a locker on the accused’s pointing out. The seizure included 3,609 notes of ₹500 ( ₹18,04,500), 579 notes of ₹200 ( ₹1,15,800), 1,182 notes of ₹100 ( ₹1,18,200), five notes of ₹50, twenty-one notes of ₹20 and five notes of ₹10.
The recovery memo also records the seizure of 112 US dollars, comprising eight 100-dollar notes, two 50-dollar notes, nine 20-dollar notes, three 10-dollar notes, two 5-dollar notes and one 1-dollar note.
In addition, investigators recovered precious metals allegedly linked to devotees’ offerings, including silver bars weighing about 159.54 grams, gold bars weighing about 9.14 grams, and a gold fragment weighing approximately 3.44 grams, according to the seizure memo prepared during the remand proceedings.
The latest recoveries add to the evidence already seized from the eight arrested accused during the investigation, including cash, gold, silver and other valuables allegedly traced to the misappropriation of temple offerings. Investigators are now matching these recoveries with donation registers, inventory records, bank deposits and accounting documents to determine whether the valuables recovered correspond to devotees’ offerings that were allegedly diverted.
The SIT is simultaneously examining the financial trail, the movement of cash and valuables, the role of individuals entrusted with handling donations, and the administrative approvals governing the disposal of jewellery. Investigators are expected to question trustees, officials associated with donation management and others involved in the handling of ornaments to establish whether the melting of jewellery followed authorised procedures or was carried out without proper approval.
Officials said the findings relating to the jewellery trail, coupled with the cash and precious metal recoveries, are expected to form a crucial component of the SIT’s financial and forensic investigation into the alleged diversion of donations offered by devotees at the Ram temple.
