A Special Investigation Team’s (SIT) final report into the alleged embezzlement of Ram Mandir donation money has flagged “gross lapses” in the functioning of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust and questioned the State Bank of India’s (SBI) role and the lack of professional financial management in the Trust. However, it found no evidence of financial impropriety at the leadership level, according to officials who have seen the report.
The report has exonerated former trust general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra, stating that there was no evidence of their direct involvement in the alleged misappropriation of donation money, trust sources said.
Following a request from the trust, the Yogi Adityanath government had constituted the SIT to probe the alleged embezzlement. Lucknow divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, inspector general of police (Lucknow range) Kiran S and special secretary (Finance) Neel Ratan were part of the panel.
According to senior trust officials, the SIT report, submitted on Monday, concludes that the trust lacked professional systems for handling donations, maintaining records and ensuring internal oversight.
The second SIT, headed by IG (Lucknow range) Kiran S, is currently overseeing the investigation in the case registered in Ayodhya pursuant to the Supreme Court’s directions.
What the report found
According to the SIT findings, the trust failed to put in place a robust system for the collection, accounting and safekeeping of the massive donations received from across the country and abroad after the foundation stone of the Ram temple was laid in 2020.
The report notes that the responsibility for counting and verifying cash donations was outsourced to SBI, but its staff “did not execute its duty of proper supervision”. The SIT has flagged this as a key procedural failure that could have led to discrepancies.
“There was absence of adequate checks, absence of professional financial management and inadequate supervision at multiple levels,” the report is learnt to have observed.
It recommends that the trust adopt transparent accounting practices, appoint professional auditors and create a dedicated finance and compliance cell.
The report also identifies Ram Shankar Yadav, alias Tinnu Yadav, as the alleged mastermind behind the diversion of funds. According to the report, the SIT tracked bank transactions, property deals and investments to establish how the allegedly siphoned donation money was routed.
Investigators found that funds collected in the name of Ram temple construction were allegedly diverted by a group of eight accused and later invested in real estate, land purchases in Ayodhya and adjoining districts, and private businesses.
The report details specific bank accounts and shell entities allegedly used to layer the transactions and notes that some of the money was used to buy agricultural land and commercial plots when donations peaked following the bhoomi pujan.
Tinnu Yadav named ‘mastermind’
The SIT has named Tinnu Yadav as the alleged mastermind of the embezzlement. The report states that Yadav allegedly used his contacts with local donation collection volunteers to gain access to cash and cheques before they reached the trust’s designated bank accounts.
He is accused of orchestrating the diversion and distribution of funds among the other seven accused. The report says there was no dedicated finance and audit cell, no standard operating procedure for collection agents and inadequate reconciliation between donation receipts issued and money deposited.
SBI under scanner
The SIT has specifically questioned the manner in which SBI was roped in for the mammoth exercise of counting donation money. Sources said thousands of envelopes containing cash and cheques were sent to designated bank branches, but bank personnel did not follow the required protocols for verification and reconciliation.
The panel has suggested that the matter be taken up with the bank’s top management for accountability and for putting in place stricter guidelines for such large-scale public donation drives in future.
Clean chit to Rai, Mishra
Despite its criticism of the trust’s systems, the SIT has given a clean chit to former general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra. According to sources, the report states that there is no evidence of personal misappropriation or mala fide intent on their part.
Both Rai and Mishra were key faces of the temple construction and oversaw the initial phase of fundraising. Their exoneration is likely to be used by the trust to argue that while its systems needed tightening, there was no financial impropriety at the leadership level.
Trust yet to respond
Trust officials have not made a formal comment on the SIT findings. However, sources within the trust said the recommendations for professional management were already being studied and that steps would be taken to address the gaps flagged.
The Ram Mandir project has received donations worth several hundred crores, making it one of the largest faith-based fundraising exercises in recent years. The SIT report underlines the need for institutional-grade governance given the scale of the operation.
The findings are expected to be placed before the Trust’s board for further action.
Background and arrests
The FIR in the alleged donation theft case was registered on June 25. All eight accused named in the FIR have been arrested and sent to jail so far. Ayodhya police arrested eight people in the case on June 26, including Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu, Manish Yadav, Subhash Srivastava, Avinash Shukla, Rama Shankar Mishra and Karunesh Pandey.
