India, July 1 -- Six of the eight men arrested in connection with irregularities in the Ram Temple donation collections were on the payroll of a Varanasi-based security agency that provided manpower for the cash-counting process at the shrine in Ayodhya, HT has found.

This agency - Sainik Security Services - was incorporated in its present form with a Varanasi registered address and a paid-up capital of Rs.1 lakh in December 2017, according to the ministry of corporate affairs database.

The agency was hired by the State Bank of India (SBI), Naya Ghat Branch, Ayodhya for the cash-counting process, said Gaurav Singh, the owner and director of Sainik Security Services, Varanasi. The branch is one of the three bank branches where the Shri R...