Overview
- A Special Investigation Team reported nearly 70 instances of staff hiding cash during counting and found failures such as inadequate frisking, mixed counting of donations, and CCTV blind spots that let employees remove notes without detection.
- Police registered an FIR, arrested eight people who handled donations, and recovered about ₹79.8 lakh from suspects and counting-room locations during the investigation.
- The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust accepted the resignations of general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra and appointed trustee Krishna Mohan as interim general secretary to oversee immediate fixes.
- The trust formed a three-member panel to recruit a chief executive officer and pledged to overhaul donation-management processes, invite verification of nearly 2,926 non-cash offerings, and tighten administrative controls.
- Political parties have demanded higher-level scrutiny and possible reconstitution of the trust, donor confidence has weakened and the trust will review the SIT’s final report and further appointments at its July 22 meeting.