Ram Mandir Donation Theft Case : The Supreme Court has disposed of all petitions related to the alleged theft of donation money at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya. The court clarified that further proceedings in the case will now take place before a lower court in Ayodhya. The petitioners have been permitted to present their views during the trial and assist the court in its proceedings. However, the Supreme Court has not commented on the truth of the allegations made in the case. During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the court that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) had already filed a chargesheet before the lower court.

SIT Has Already Filed Its Chargesheet
The Supreme Court was informed that the second SIT had completed its investigation and filed a chargesheet by September 25. Earlier, on June 23, the first SIT had submitted its preliminary investigation report to the state government. According to the report, around 70 suspicious incidents were recorded on CCTV cameras between April 27 and June 5. The footage allegedly showed eight accused individuals hiding bundles of currency notes in their pockets and shoes. Following this, a second SIT was constituted on the Supreme Court’s directions to investigate the matter.

Why Was A Second SIT Constituted?
Four separate petitions were filed before the Supreme Court in connection with the alleged theft of temple donations. The petitioners sought a CBI investigation and the formation of an expert committee to review the management of donations at the temple. The first investigation team was required to submit its report to the state government, while the second SIT was assigned the responsibility of directly informing the Supreme Court about the progress of the investigation. Considering the importance of the role played by police officials, officers of DIG and SSP rank were also included in the investigation team.

Four Petitioners Raised Serious Questions
In July, the Supreme Court issued notices to the Central Government, the Uttar Pradesh Government and the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust in the matter. The petitioners included RJD MP Sudhakar Singh, advocate N.K. Goswami, Ajay Kumar Rai and Hindu Dharma Parishad. Their petitions sought a CBI investigation, a comprehensive audit of the temple trust’s finances and a review of the management of donations. Following the Supreme Court’s order, the trial will now proceed before the Ayodhya court.

FIR Registered Against Eight People On June 25
An FIR was registered against eight people at the Ram Janmabhoomi police station on June 25. The accused were identified as Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Yadav, Subhash Srivastava, Avinash Shukla, Karunesh Pandey and Ramashankar Mishra. Police arrested all of them and sent them to jail. They have been booked under several sections, including theft, criminal breach of trust, concealing stolen property and criminal conspiracy. All the accused were reportedly lodged in Faizabad jail.

Police Describe The Alleged Role Of Each Accused
According to the police, Ramshankar Yadav had possession of the donation box keys without any formal order. Anukalp Mishra and Lavkush Mishra were involved in counting the cash. Police claim that approximately ₹20 lakh was recovered from Anukalp’s residence and around ₹10 lakh from Lavkush’s residence. The police also stated that ₹5 lakh was recovered from Avinash Shukla’s bank account. The remaining accused were also allegedly involved in counting the donated cash. All these allegations will now be examined during the trial before the lower court in Ayodhya.