The State Bank of India (SBI) wanted to replace the Ram Temple's donation-counting staff three months before the alleged donation embezzlement scam came to light. Members of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust allegedly stopped this and allowed the employees to continue their work, bank sources claimed on Monday.
SBI suspected that someone was siphoning money from the temple's donation boxes and recommended removing the cash-counting staff. The outsourcing agency started the process of replacing them, but Trust officials allegedly intervened and stopped them from getting replaced, HT reported earlier.
SBI reportedly hired the workers through an outsourcing agency on monthly salaries of ₹12,000 to ₹15,000.
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Senior SBI officials told HT that several people involved in the temple's management, though not Trust members, questioned why the bank used outsourced staff instead of permanent employees to count the temple's daily donations.
Congress questions Trust
Congress leader Pawan Khera also claimed that SBI had recommended replacing the cash-counting staff three months ago.
{{/usCountry}}Congress leader Pawan Khera also claimed that SBI had recommended replacing the cash-counting staff three months ago.
{{/usCountry}}"Three months ago, the SBI had recommended that those posted at the counting centre be removed. Who has been protecting them? Nagpur or Delhi?" Khera said, speaking to reporters in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
He claimed the alleged donation theft at the Ram Temple was only the beginning. "Ayodhya ki loot jhanki hai, Kashi-Mathura abhi baki hai (the alleged loot in Ayodhya is only a glimpse, Kashi and Mathura are yet to come)," Khera said.
Earlier, Rajya Sabha member Sibal took a swipe at the government. "Defeat this Government, Ram ko loota, Desh ko loota, Achhe Din ka nara jhootha" (They looted Lord Ram, they looted the country, and the promise of 'Achhe Din' was false).
"Aise shasan ko tordein ge; Mil ke Desh ko jordein ge; Na dilon ka ho ga batwara; Sab ka Desh hai Desh hamara" (We will bring down such a government; together we will unite the country; there will be no division of hearts; this nation belongs to everyone).
The Ram Temple donation row
The controversy escalated after a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which the Uttar Pradesh government set up on June 13 at the Trust's request, conducted a preliminary inquiry and found irregularities in handling cash and valuables. Based on the SIT's findings, police filed an FIR on June 25.
Police arrested eight accused: Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav.
Investigators identified Tinnu Yadav as the alleged kingpin and said he arranged for his relative and co-accused, Manish Kumar Yadav, to get a job at the temple's cash-counting unit. Tinnu Yadav also worked as the driver of Champat Rai, the general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
Investigators have recovered nearly ₹80 lakh in cash and some foreign currency from six of the eight accused so far. Opposition parties allege donated funds worth over ₹200 crore have been pocketed by authorities managing the Trust.
They raided the homes of all eight accused on Sunday.
Police booked the accused under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to criminal breach of Trust, cheating, theft and criminal conspiracy, along with Section 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Pressure mounts on temple Trust
The arrests have also increased pressure on the temple Trust. Champat Rai has submitted his resignation as the Trust's general secretary, while senior functionary Anil Mishra has also offered to step down.
Bar association refuses to defend accused
The Faizabad Bar Association has decided that none of its members would represent the accused in the case. After a general body meeting on Monday, association secretary Shailendra Jaiswal said, "The theft of temple offerings has deeply hurt our sentiments. All lawyers...have agreed not to defend the arrested accused."
The association warned that any lawyer who appears for the accused will be fined ₹5 lakh. It also asked Champat Rai, Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao to leave Ayodhya within three days, threatening to blockade the city if they fail to do so.
The bar body said it had taken a similar stand in 2005 by refusing to defend those accused in the terrorist attack on the makeshift Ram temple in Ayodhya.