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Ram temple probe: SBI official records statement, two bank staffers under scanner
The Ayodhya police are now extensively probing the role of the SBI staff and that of eight arrested men, including six outsourced employees hired by a private security agency
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After having shared information with the police, who visited the State Bank of India’s Naya Ghat branch in Ayodhya earlier this week for details regarding the Ram temple donation theft probe, Anoop Tripathi, chief manager of the branch, went to the office of Ayodhya circle officer Ashutosh Tewari on Saturday to record his official statement in the ongoing probe, official sources said.
The Ayodhya police are now extensively probing the role of the SBI staff and that of eight arrested men, including six outsourced employees hired by a private security agency, in connection with the investigation, the sources said.
On June 29, a police team from the Ram Janmabhoomi police station spent about four hours at the SBI’s Naya Ghat branch to collect details of accounts of the Trust and seven of the eight accused arrested in the case. The Trust also has accounts at the Naya Ghat branches of the Bank of Baroda and the Punjab National Bank.
On Saturday, police officials probing the case again reached out to the SBI’s Naya Ghat branch to examine banking transactions and details of all the bank staff deployed at the Ram temple. The chief manager visited the CO’s office thereafter
In particular, two bank staffers tasked with supervising the counting of cash from donation boxes at the Ram temple are under the probe team’s scanner.
Large-scale theft of donation money could not have been carried out without the knowledge of the two supervisors, according to Ayodhya police officials who did not wish to be named.
These two bank staffers, who supervised outsourced staff handling temple funds, are also being scrutinised over allegations that they ignored irregularities and failed to prevent embezzlement of cash.
“Their role was to check that all the cash collected from donation boxes is properly counted, figures noted down and locked in safe vaults of the Trust at the Ram Mandir or sent to the bank for deposition,” said a senior police officer.
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust had engaged SBI, Naya Ghat branch, Ayodhya, for the cash-counting.
The bank on its part hired an outsourced agency, the Varanasi-based Sainik Security Services, which provided additional manpower.
The SBI had deployed its own staff at nine donation counters where devotees get receipts for their donations to make sure that figures of total cash collected and receipts issued matched.
When HT reached out to a senior Uttar Pradesh-based official of SBI on Saturday, he declined to comment on the matter.
The Trust has its savings and current accounts as well as fixed deposits with SBI, Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank.
Cash deposited by devotees in donation boxes was deposited at the SBI, Naya Ghat branch only.
“The Trust has its savings bank, current account and fixed deposit in our bank,” said Satyendra Mishra, branch manager, PNB, Naya Ghat.
The Trust also has accounts for online payments by devotees in all three banks.
On June 29, chief manager Anoop Tripathi spent the entire first-half of the day scanning bank transactions of all eight accused on the bank’s Core Banking System (CBS) and sharing details with the police.
“The Ayodhya police visited the bank today to seek bank details of the accused in the donation-money scam. The bank has provided details of their accounts,” he had said.
Earlier, in a statement on June 28, SBI said it is fully cooperating with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing alleged irregularities in handling donations collected through the donation boxes at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
In the statement, SBI said it has been providing banking services to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust since the Pran Pratishtha ceremony. The bank said it has extended full cooperation to the SIT during the inquiry and remains committed to assisting the ongoing investigation.
