Ram Temple Donation Theft: SIT Finalises Report, Blames Administrative Failures Ahead of Supreme Court Submission

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has finalised its report on the Ayodhya Ram temple donation theft. The Supreme Court will receive a formal update on July 20. The document identifies clear administrative and supervisory failures. However, the active siphoning of cash remained restricted to a limited group of lower-level employees.

The temple administration ignored established protocols for managing the counting facilities. The recruitment of untrained individuals for these critical tasks facilitated the misappropriation of funds, a source said, as reported by the Indian Express.

Systemic Lapses and Culpability

The inquiry exposed severe flaws within the temple administration. Unlike the management at Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, which boasts years of administrative background, the Ayodhya temple has only been functioning for two years. "Institutional deficiencies enabled these operations to go on undetected over a period of time," the source said to the Indian Express. The temple management bears responsibility for allowing unsupervised counting operations and recruiting incompetent staff. "There was administrative negligence in hiring some of these people and putting them in charge of the counting-room operations. But does the scope of these thefts go beyond these lower level people? There isn’t much evidence of that," the source said. Favouritism largely drove these controversial appointments. "There is an element of sycophancy in the selection of these people, which now needs to be addressed by hiring only qualified professionals to crucial roles," the source added.

Proposed Security Reforms

To prevent future thefts, the SIT proposed sweeping security upgrades for the donation areas. The recommendations include upgrading camera surveillance systems and increasing digital storage to support better video quality. Authorities plan to introduce strict frisking protocols at all entry and exit points. The panel advised providing designated uniforms for assigned employees, establishing specific accountability for oversight personnel and enforcing a complete ban on unverified contract workers managing the funds. The management must hire independent professionals with no ties to the temple leadership. "Apart from cash counting, a process has been instituted to record every artefact that’s come in, weigh it and make a register entry to ensure that this kind of a system stays in place for the future," the source said.

Investigation and Arrests

The Uttar Pradesh government formed the SIT on June 13 to investigate the alleged cash pilferage. The panel consists of Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, Inspector General of Police (Lucknow range) Kiran S and Special Secretary (Finance) Neel Ratan. The committee handed its preliminary findings to the state government on June 23. Based on this initial document, the Ayodhya police registered FIRs on June 25. This rapid legal action resulted in the arrest of eight accused individuals. A court subsequently remanded them to judicial custody.