New Delhi [India], November 3 (ANI): Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday questioned the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to declare the investigation into alleged theft of donations at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya complete, alleging that the probe had failed to establish accountability of senior office-bearers of the temple trust and demanding an independent investigation under the supervision of the Supreme Court.
In a post shared on X, Ramesh alleged that the BJP government had attempted to close the matter by filing a chargesheet against eight people without taking action against those holding senior positions in the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
“Chanda Theft, Faith Betrayal In the case of theft of offerings and financial irregularities at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, the BJP government has washed its hands of responsibility by declaring the investigation complete without taking action against the big fish. Have the Prime Minister and Chief Minister completely abandoned public shame in their attempt to protect people associated with the RSS, Vishva Hindu Parishad, and BJP? Millions of devotees offered their faith and hard-earned money as chadhava at the Shri Ram Temple. Today, in the case of theft of those very offerings, the Uttar Pradesh government is saying that the investigation is complete, a chargesheet has been filed against eight people, and accounts of all offerings and valuable items have been reconciled,” he wrote.
Raising questions over the investigation, the Congress leader said, “But the question is, does filing a chargesheet against eight people constitute the full investigation of the entire case? Why haven’t the other major culprits been named as accused?”
He further questioned the government’s accountability over the alleged theft incidents recorded on CCTV cameras and the recovery of nearly Rs 79.85 lakh.
“Does the government’s responsibility end after 105 CCTV-recorded incidents and the recovery of nearly ₹79.85 lakh? Isn’t there a need to fix accountability for those responsible for the security, counting, accounting, and monitoring of the temple’s offerings, who made no effort to prevent the theft? The government’s argument simply means that it considers the investigation conducted by its own SIT sufficient. But the SIT is a police agency of the Uttar Pradesh government. We believe the government has misled the Supreme Court by declaring the SIT’s investigation complete. If not, then the government should explain why it did not deem it necessary to conduct a full, independent, impartial probe into the entire matter under Supreme Court supervision?” Ramesh said.
“Recording 105 theft incidents on CCTV in just 45 days is no small matter. When crores of people offered thousands of crores in chadhava, but there’s only news of recovering ₹79.85 lakh. How much cash was stolen in total across the 105 incidents? How much recovery remains outstanding? Will the government make the full accounting public?” he asked.
“The government should clarify whether only footage from 105 CCTV recordings exists, and where is the rest of the CCTV footage? The question is, over how many days do those 105 thefts recorded in the CCTV footage span?” he added.
Ramesh also questioned why the investigation had not examined the administrative responsibilities of senior trust functionaries, including Champat Rai, Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao, who, according to his post, were made witnesses in the case.
“And one fundamental question: Why was the investigation limited only to those eight individuals accused of withdrawing cash? Where is the scrutiny of the roles of those under whom this system was operating, those responsible for monitoring and control? Champat Rai, Anil Mishra, and Gopal Rao have been made witnesses. There is a vast difference between being a witness and being an accused—why was there no independent probe into their administrative responsibilities and their roles at the time of the incidents?” he said.
Referring to the alleged delay in registering the FIR, Ramesh said a video showing Rs 2.25 lakh in cash being received on June 4 had reached then-General Secretary Champat Rai, while CCTV footage was reportedly shown to him on June 5. However, the FIR was registered only on June 25.
“If it did happen, what were its conclusions? A video of ₹2.25 lakh in cash being received on June 4 reached then-General Secretary Champat Rai. The charge sheet details also reveal that CCTV footage was shown to him on June 5. So why was the FIR registered only on June 25? Was this a matter of their household, to be filed whenever they pleased?” he asked.
“What happened in these 21 days? This delay appears to be a conspiracy to hush up the case, so the question is: Who decided to stall or delay the action?” Ramesh said.
The Congress leader also referred to audit reports, alleging that the 2020 audit had highlighted deficiencies in donation records and financial controls, while subsequent audits had raised further questions. He also questioned the CCTV recording period of 45 days and the alleged failure to implement a recommendation for maintaining a 180-day backup.
“If evidence was destroyed during these 21 days of delay and this is a direct crime, why has no action been taken against those responsible? The questions aren’t just about the 105 incidents. The 2020 audit report had already drawn attention to deficiencies in donation records and financial controls. Later audits raised further questions. There are also questions about the CCTV recording period being 45 days and the recommendation to maintain a 180-day backup not being implemented. When warnings were already in place, why wasn’t the system fixed? Has responsibility been fixed for any senior official for these failures? Now in court too, the issue has arisen of providing all charge sheet material and digital evidence to the accused,” he said.
Ramesh further raised concerns over reports that demands for CCTV footage and audio recordings remained pending, questioning the transparency of the investigation and the availability of relevant evidence to the accused.
“Reports indicate that demands for CCTV footage and audio recordings remain pending. If the investigation is so complete and transparent, what was the obstacle in placing all relevant evidence before the court and the parties? For a fair trial, it is essential that the accused also receive the full documents and evidence,” he said.
“On November 2, the Uttar Pradesh government told the Supreme Court that the investigation is complete and the charge sheet has been filed. The Supreme Court disposed of the petitions but made it clear that it has not opined on the merits of the allegations. The petitioners have been permitted to assist the magistrate,” he added.
Reacting to the developments, Ramesh said the Supreme Court’s order could not be interpreted as a clean chit to any side, as the court had not expressed an opinion on the merits of the allegations. He also pointed out that the petitioners had been permitted to assist the magistrate.
“This order cannot be called a clean chit for any side. But the government will have to answer: When so many serious questions remain, why the haste in declaring its SIT’s investigation as final and sufficient? Why was no independent probe conducted into the entire trust’s financial management, monitoring system, and the roles of senior office-bearers? Is the government’s priority to close this case after filing a charge sheet against eight accused while hiding the full truth?” he asked.
Demanding a comprehensive probe, Ramesh called for an independent forensic audit of donations, cash, bank accounts, gold and silver, valuable items, land and construction expenses of the temple trust from its formation.
“The Congress’s demand is clear: Conduct an independent and comprehensive forensic audit of the donations, cash, bank accounts, gold-silver, valuable items, land, and construction expenses of the Ram Mandir Trust from its formation until now,” he said.
He also demanded that the funds collected from devotees before the formation of the trust be accounted for publicly, and that action taken on objections raised in the 2020 and subsequent audit reports be disclosed.
“Also publicly account for the funds collected from devotees before the trust’s formation. Bring forth details of actions taken on the objections recorded in the 2020 and subsequent audit reports. Fix administrative and financial accountability at every level, including senior office-bearers. The investigation must be independent and under Supreme Court supervision. Whoever is found guilty must face action as per the law. Also restructure the trust to ensure transparency in its functioning,” Ramesh said.
Ramesh also demanded that administrative and financial accountability be fixed at every level, including among senior office-bearers, and called for restructuring the trust to ensure transparency in its functioning.
“Prime Minister ji, the country is watching this silence filled with your political shamelessness. The devotees’ offerings are not the personal property of any office-bearer or trust—they are the sacred trust of crores of devotees. A charge sheet against eight people is not the full accounting of this sacred trust,” he said.
Concluding his post, the Congress leader said that filing a chargesheet against eight people could not be treated as a complete account of the devotees’ offerings.
“Declaring the investigation complete does not end the questions; rather, it proves that a conspiracy is being hatched to hush up the matter with the patronage of the Prime Minister and Chief Minister, and we will not let it succeed. This case cannot be considered closed until accountability is fixed,” Ramesh said.
https://x.com/Jairam_Ramesh/status/2117551240091758825
The Congress leader’s remarks come a day after the Supreme Court disposed of petitions concerning alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple after being informed that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) had filed a chargesheet in the matter.
During the proceedings, the Uttar Pradesh government informed the Supreme Court that the theft of donations had taken place during the counting process and involved certain officials.
Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta told the court that people involved in counting the donations would take the money and either invest it elsewhere or deposit it into bank accounts.
The court was also informed that a chargesheet had been filed in the case. It asked the trial court, a judicial magistrate, to proceed with the matter while clarifying that it had not made any observations on the merits of the allegations. (ANI)
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