Overview
- The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday set up a three‑member Special Investigation Team led by Lucknow divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant with IG Kiran S and finance official Neel Ratan, and ordered a preliminary report in seven days and a final report in 15 days.
- The SIT was constituted after widespread claims—first highlighted by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav—that crores in offerings might be missing and following a formal request from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for an impartial probe.
- Investigations on the ground have involved detaining and questioning employees who handled cash counts, searches of a former employee’s home in the Rudauli area and the recovery of roughly Rs 10–12 lakh, with CCTV and Special Operations Group checks under way.
- The Trust says internal audits so far show no large irregularity and it supports the SIT, while critics and some BJP leaders have urged full public disclosure of the Trust’s accounts, donations and assets.
- The probe will examine how donations were handled and counted—including bank staff participation that officials say could allow miscalculation—and the SIT’s findings within 7–15 days could prompt wider audits, prosecutions or public account disclosures and shape political fallout and devotees’ confidence.