The Supreme Court was informed on Monday that 105 instances of alleged donation theft at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya were captured on the temple's CCTV cameras.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta placed details of the investigation before the top court while referring to the status report submitted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged theft.
SIT investigation nearing completion
Mehta told the court that the SIT's investigation was close to completion and that the charge sheet would be filed by September 25. The court directed the magistrate to deal with the charge sheet in accordance with the law.
The Supreme Court was hearing the matter related to the alleged theft of donations and reviewed the SIT's status report during the proceedings.
The report detailed the evidence gathered during the probe, including CCTV footage, witness statements and other material. The SIT said CCTV footage and additional evidence were analysed to identify those allegedly involved in the theft.
The court took the information presented during the hearing on record.
CCTV footage helped identify accused
According to the SIT report, 105 incidents of donation theft were identified through CCTV footage.
The report also explained the system used to record and secure valuables received at the temple. Receipts for valuables are generated through software, after which the items are kept in a State Bank of India (SBI) locker.
During the hearing, the petitioners sought a copy of the SIT report. The Supreme Court, however, declined the request. The bench led by the Chief Justice said it did not want to take the matter out of the Sessions Judge's hands and indicated that it would pass an order if it considered further investigation necessary.
Temple trust undergoes administrative changes
The donation theft allegations had earlier led to changes within the Ram Mandir Trust. Top officials Champat Rai and Anil Mishra were removed from their posts after the issue came to light.
A CEO-led administrative structure has since been introduced, with former military officer Jitendra Mishra appointed as CEO. He has said changes would be made to the system and that future operations would improve.
The three-member SIT, headed by Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, was constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government on June 13 at the request of the Trust. The panel submitted its preliminary report to the state government on June 23, along with several recommendations.
Eight named accused arrested
The FIR named eight people — Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu — along with unidentified individuals.
All the named accused have been arrested and booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.