Uttar Pradesh hands SIT report on Ayodhya temple donation theft to trust

The Uttar Pradesh home department has transferred the Special Investigation Team's final report concerning the alleged theft of donations for the Ayodhya Ram temple to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. The SIT, comprised of Vijay Vishwas Pant, Range Inspector General Kiran S and Special Secretary (Finance) Neel Ratan Kumar, was created on June 13 after the trust sought a probe and before Supreme Court involvement.

Its preliminary report, submitted on June 23, led trust member Krishnamohan to lodge a complaint, resulting in an FIR on June 25 that identified eight suspects, including Avinash Shukla and others, while omitting former trust officials Champat Rai and Anil Mishra. The accused face charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The final SIT report now serves as the basis for the trust's next steps in the investigation.