Congress questions Ram temple donation theft probe, seeks Supreme Court supervision

• Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has called for an impartial investigation into the alleged theft of donations at the Ayodhya Ram temple under Supreme Court supervision.

• Citing the chargesheet, he questioned the delay between the discovery of suspected theft on 4 June and the filing of an FIR on 25 June.

• Ramesh also questioned whether the role of those overseeing the donation system had been fully examined and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to respond.

The Congress on Saturday raised questions about the investigation into the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya and called for an impartial, transparent probe under the supervision of the Supreme Court.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the chargesheet raised concerns about the delay in taking criminal action. According to his account of the document, a video showing Rs 2.25 lakh found in a bathroom was sent to former temple trust general secretary Champat Rai on 4 June, and CCTV footage was shown to him the next day. The FIR was filed on 25 June.

Ramesh asked why it took 21 days to register the case when, he said, money had been recovered and footage had identified suspicious activity. He also questioned whether the delay had allowed anyone to avoid scrutiny.

The Congress leader said the chargesheet referred to 105 suspected incidents captured on CCTV, including 85 instances involving one accused person. The Uttar Pradesh government had earlier told the Supreme Court that the SIT had identified 105 suspected incidents in the footage.

Ramesh asked why Rai, Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao had been treated as witnesses rather than accused. He also questioned why the investigation had been limited to eight accused despite, he said, the examination of digital messages, bank accounts and property records. Being named as a witness does not establish wrongdoing, and his questions about their roles remain allegations.

Ramesh further asked whether the investigation had examined everyone responsible for overseeing the temple’s donation system and whether any links led to the BJP-RSS leadership. He offered no finding establishing such a link.

Calling the matter one of faith for devotees, Ramesh said the case could not be considered closed until responsibility for the theft was established. He also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break his silence, alleging that a failure to do so would suggest protection for those responsible.

With PTI inputs