LUCKNOW, June 28 -- The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged theft of donations from the Ram temple has zeroed in on what officials describe as a pattern of administrative and security lapses that may have enabled the alleged embezzlement of cash over a prolonged period.

At the centre of the expanding investigation is a police wireless and telecom officer whose nearly 17-year posting in Ayodhya and alleged role beyond his official responsibility have come under intense scrutiny.

According to officials familiar with the investigation, the inspector-rank officer, inducted as a Radio Maintenance Officer (RMO) through the 2006 recruitment, spent nearly 17 years of his roughly 20-year service at Ayodhya despite repeated trans...