Ayodhya/Dehradun: The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe allegations of misappropriation of donations and offerings made to the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya.
The SIT, comprising Vijay Vishwas Pant, divisional commissioner, Lucknow; Kiran S, IG (Range); and Neel Ratan, special secretary, Finance, was set up following a request from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir Trust.
This is being considered a big move with Assembly elections in the state approaching. The polls, originally scheduled for February-March 2027, may get pushed forward to November 2026, owing to the census operations.
The allegations about the pilferage at the temple have been made by the Opposition and may turn out to be a poll issue unless the matter is thoroughly investigated.
Parmarth Niketan Ashram president Swami Chidanand Saraswati, on Tuesday, welcomed the decision to probe the matter and said that discussions on the issue should be based on facts and not rumours.
“There are many rumours regarding the offerings for the Lord Shri Ram Temple in Ayodhya, but I am happy that the chief minister of the state, Yogi Adityanath, has taken immediate action and formed an SIT and a decision will be taken very soon,” he told ANI.
“There should be discussion on Ayodhya and the Shri Ram Temple, questions should be raised, but it should be based on facts, not rumours,” the seer added.
The SIT has been directed to submit its preliminary and final reports as soon as possible.
On June 12, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut held the BJP governments in the Centre and UP responsible for the alleged misappropriation of funds worth Rs 7 crore from offerings made at the temple.
The allegations were originally levelled by Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Pawan Pandey, former MLA from Ayodhya, who claimed that between Rs 7 crore and Rs 7.5 crore in donations had been swindled.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had then demanded an impartial investigation into the matter while alleging that the silence of the UP government was suspicious. He had urged the judiciary to take cognisance of the situation and called on the temple administration to make relevant CCTV footage public.
Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust member, Mahant Dinendra Das Maharaj, refuted Yadav’s allegations that crores in temple donations were missing. All transactions are properly recorded and processed transparently, he said.
