Signing you in

Sources linked to the police investigation told this newspaper that nearly 50 people were engaged in counting currency notes donated by devotees at the temple. Of these, sources said, close to 40 were allegedly recruited on the recommendations of Trust office-bearers or others closely associated with them.

Investigators are now examining the backgrounds of these employees and whether any of them accumulated assets disproportionate to their known sources of income after joining the cash-counting operation.

The probe has also brought under scrutiny a few senior Trust functionaries associated with the management of donations, although no criminal culpability has yet been established against them.

“This was not merely a case of administrative lapse or an error of judgment, but of deliberate negligence on the part of some people. Sensitive work involving public donations was entrusted through ad-hoc recruitment, with relatives and acquaintances of Trust functionaries finding their way into the system. The backgrounds of all such recruits are being verified and their financial records are also being examined,” a senior police officer in Ayodhya said.

According to investigators, CCTV footage has provided direct evidence against six of the eight arrested accused, allegedly showing them concealing bundles of currency notes inside their clothes, pockets and shoes while counting donations at the temple’s Pilgrim Facilitation Centre.

The alleged theft came to light after discrepancies in donation accounting prompted the temple administration to seek a police investigation. The UP government subsequently constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) even as the Trust saw the resignations of its general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra amid mounting scrutiny over the handling of donations.

The arrests and the widening probe follow the findings detailed in a nine-page preliminary report submitted by the SIT in the case, which concluded that the alleged thefts were not isolated acts but were enabled by serious systemic failures in supervision, security and cash-handling procedures.