Ram temple trust declines to share financial details, cites SIT probe

Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust secretary Champat Rai has declined to provide details regarding the trust's income, expenditure, donations, bank accounts, land transactions and assets, citing an ongoing Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe linked to the Ram temple project, officials said on Wednesday, 24 June.

The matter surfaced after a complaint submitted to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) by BJP leader Rajneesh Singh was forwarded to the Ayodhya district administration for appropriate action.

In a letter dated 23 June to additional district magistrate (administration) Vishu Raja, additional district magistrate (law and order) Indrakant Dwivedi said he had contacted Rai seeking the information requested in the complaint.

According to the letter, Rai informed the administration that an SIT inquiry was currently underway and that the investigating team was collecting relevant records and documents. In view of the ongoing probe, the requested information could not be shared at this stage, the letter stated.

On 12 June, Singh approached the PMO seeking directions to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust to place in the public domain comprehensive details of its finances and assets from its inception.

The complaint, which was subsequently forwarded by the PMO, sought disclosure of information relating to funds collected through the Samarpan Nidhi campaign, donations received through various channels, contributions in the form of gold, silver and ornaments, bank accounts and financial transactions, land purchases and sales, expenditure incurred on temple construction and administration, as well as audit and inspection reports.

In his representation, Singh argued that crores of devotees in India and abroad had contributed towards the construction of the Ram temple and therefore had a moral and democratic right to know how donations and offerings had been utilised.

The development comes amid an ongoing SIT investigation into allegations of financial irregularities and the handling of donations linked to the Ram temple project in Ayodhya.

With PTI inputs