Overview
- On Wednesday the state Special Investigation Team secured a 15-day extension to widen its inquiry, while eight accused remain in 14-day judicial custody and police say they have recovered about Rs 80 lakh and some foreign currency from suspects.
- Investigators have shifted focus to the banking and counting process after multiple outlets and officials reported that State Bank of India flagged concerns about outsourced cash‑counting staff nearly three months before arrests.
- Police accounts and statements attributed to an accused describe a scheme in which cash was taken during counting, hidden in temple washrooms to avoid CCTV, and smuggled out with help from staff who held keys to the counting room.
- Two senior Trust functionaries, Champat Rai and Anil Mishra, resigned and have been questioned while the SIT says it has found supervisory and administrative lapses and has issued notices to dozens of Trust office‑bearers as it traces financial and land transactions.
- The case has sparked political attacks, calls for a CBI probe, the Faizabad Bar Association’s refusal to defend the accused and growing public concern about donor confidence, which could force forensic financial audits and tighter counting and surveillance reforms at major religious sites.