The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing allegations of donation theft and financial mismanagement at the Ram Mandir trust has put together a preliminary draft report. According to sources speaking to TrendKia, the SIT recorded written statements from 14 influential individuals and sevaadars connected to the temple before compiling this initial document. Scrutiny of those statements is still ongoing.
Report Will Not Be Released Soon, SIT Requests More Time
Despite the draft being ready, the report will not be submitted to the Chief Minister or made public in the near future. The SIT has formally asked the Uttar Pradesh government for additional time, citing numerous serious irregularities discovered during the investigation that still require deeper examination before the final report can be handed over.
Statements and Temple Documents Show Major Discrepancies
When investigators compared the accounts given by sevaadars during questioning with the temple's official records, they found significant mismatches. The gap between what the sevaadars stated and what the documents show has become a central concern for the investigation team and is a key reason behind the request for more time.
Gopal Rao's Unofficial Involvement Raises Serious Questions
One of the notable findings of the investigation concerns Gopal Rao. He is not an official trustee of the Ram Mandir trust, yet he was directly involved in the temple's internal management. The SIT is now examining how someone without any official position in the trust was able to exercise direct influence over its internal affairs.
Donation Box Keys Were With 'Tinnu', Not the Counting Official
The single most startling revelation of the investigation is that the keys to the temple's donation boxes were not held by the official responsible for counting. Instead, they were kept by Ram Shankar Yadav, known as Tinnu, who is described as being extremely close to Champat Rai. This arrangement raises fundamental questions about financial accountability within the temple.
Significant Security and Transparency Loopholes Found in Trust Management
The SIT has acknowledged that the Ram Mandir trust's existing administrative setup has several significant loopholes in terms of security and transparency. These gaps extend beyond the handling of donated funds and call into question the broader integrity of the temple's entire internal management structure.
SIT Recommends Professional Management and Appointment of a CEO
To address the shortcomings uncovered during the probe, the SIT has made an important recommendation: the temple's management should be restructured along professional and corporate lines, and a qualified CEO should be appointed. Investigators believe this change is necessary to ensure greater transparency and accountability in the temple's operations going forward.
No Direct Culprit Named Yet, Champat Rai Given Clean Chit
Despite the numerous serious irregularities flagged in the report, the SIT has not directly named any single individual as guilty of theft at this preliminary stage. Separately, sources indicate that Champat Rai, the General Secretary of the trust, was found to have no involvement in the irregularities and has been given a clean chit.
