The investigation team probing the theft of donations from the Ram Mandir donation box in Ayodhya has achieved a significant breakthrough while interrogating the accused on remand. According to police officials, investigators conducted extensive overnight raids at various locations based on information provided by the suspects. During these operations, police recovered a substantial amount of cash, gold jewelry, and a four-wheeler. From the accused Anukalp, police seized 20,000 rupees in cash, a gold chain, and a mobile phone. Furthermore, a Dzire car, which was purchased in the name of his father, has also been impounded.
Evidence of bank account transactions
Expanding the scope of the investigation, the police also recovered assets from other suspects. A gold locket, which the accused Lavkush had gifted to his wife, was successfully recovered by the police. Additionally, 38,000 rupees in cash were found in his possession, while 15,000 rupees in cash were seized from the accused Karunesh. During the probe, police uncovered solid evidence of transactions occurring between various bank accounts linked to the accused. Preliminary findings indicate that the suspects were attempting to legitimize the stolen money by transferring it from different accounts into their own personal bank accounts.
The role and recruitment of outsourced staff
According to sources, following the discovery of the donation theft and subsequent 8 arrests, no new outsourced cashiers have been appointed. During the Mahakumbh, the temple trust had recruited house-keeping staff through an outsourced agency to manage the heavy footfall of devotees. Bank sources indicate that these positions did not require any specific qualifications, as the outsourced staff were not tasked with counting the currency.
The responsibility of the outsourced workers was primarily to organize the stacks of notes and straighten the currency that had been folded by devotees before being placed in the donation boxes. The actual task of counting the notes was carried out by State Bank of India (SBI) staff. They utilized high-tech machines capable of sorting mixed notes of 500, 200, and 100 denominations, which also allowed for the detection of counterfeit currency. Bank sources maintain that the younger staff hired were strictly meant for organizational tasks rather than counting.
Potential questioning of bank employees
Subhash Srivastava, who managed the maintenance of items from the donation box, was not a bank employee but a former banker. Currently, the Ayodhya police are focusing on former SBI manager Govind Mishra, who is presently posted at the Lucknow branch. The investigative team is expected to question him and other bank employees involved in the counting process soon. Additionally, the statement of Anil Mishra, who signed the MOU with the bank, may be recorded this week. The processes regarding dress codes and recruitment are handled by a separate agency, in which the bank is not directly involved.
A critical question now remains: if the arrested suspects were merely straightening the notes and the counting was the responsibility of bank employees, what were those bank officials doing while the money was being stolen? It remains a matter of investigation how the bank staff present in the counting room failed to notice the missing notes. Because of this, the testimonies of the SBI staff are now essential to the ongoing investigation.
