LUCKNOW, Sept. 22 -- The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged theft of donations and valuables at the Ram temple in Ayodhya will file its first chargesheet on or before September 25, the Supreme Court was informed on Monday. The court took the latest status report of the investigation on record and expressed satisfaction with the progress made so far. A senior state government official said solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, told a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant that the chargesheet would be filed by September 25. The deadline is significant as the 90-day statutory period from the first arrest in the case expires that day, after which the arrested accused could become eligible for default bail. Senior police officers privy to the development said the second SIT, headed by inspector general of police (Lucknow range) Kiran S, submitted its report earlier this month. The team also includes deputy inspector general (Ayodhya range) Somen Barma, Ayodhya SSP Gaurav Grover and an additional superintendent of police rank officer. The Supreme Court was informed that the second SIT's report had identified 105 instances of alleged donation theft through CCTV footage. Investigators also examined witness statements, records relating to the handling and counting of donations and other evidence while reconstructing the alleged thefts and identifying those suspected to be involved. The second SIT filed its report on September 16 to the Supreme Court, said a senior government officer privy to the development. Earlier the interim report of the first SIT, led by Lucknow divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, mentioned 70 instances of donation theft.. The second SIT's status report placed before the court also detailed the mechanism for handling donated valuables. According to the report, receipts for valuables are generated through software and the articles are subsequently kept in an SBI locker. CCTV footage and other material were analysed alongside statements and records to establish the sequence of events. The court was also apprised of the arrests made so far and the evidence collected against the accused. It directed the magistrate to deal with the chargesheet in accordance with law. The petitioners sought a copy of the SIT report during Monday's hearing, but the Supreme Court declined the request at this stage. The bench indicated that it did not want to take the matter out of the jurisdiction of the sessions judge and said it would pass further orders if it found that additional investigation was required. The donation theft controversy surfaced publicly on June 7, when allegations were made that donations received at the Ram temple were being siphoned off. The allegations prompted the Uttar Pradesh government to constitute a three-member SIT on June 13, headed by Lucknow divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, with Lucknow range IG Kiran S and special secretary (finance) Neel Ratan as members. The first SIT conducted its initial investigation in Ayodhya between June 15 and 20 and submitted its preliminary report to the state government on June 23. The report examined the collection, counting, handling and storage of cash and valuables and pointed to alleged lapses in the system. Acting on the preliminary findings, Ayodhya police registered an FIR on June 25 against eight named persons and others not identified at that stage. The accused were booked under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Prevention of Corruption Act. The eight named accused were Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu. All eight were arrested on June 26. Police subsequently recovered about Rs.79.85 lakh in cash from seven of them, according to reports, while the accused were remanded in judicial custody. The investigation also triggered changes at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. General secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra sent in their resignations after the FIR and arrests, although the FIR did not name either of them as an accused. The two were questioned during the initial investigation regarding the roles and responsibilities of the accused. The controversy subsequently reached the Supreme Court through petitions seeking, among other things, a court-monitored investigation and a CBI probe. On July 20, the Supreme Court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to constitute a fresh SIT headed by a senior IPS officer and sought a fresh status report. The state subsequently reconstituted the investigation team. The Supreme Court also directed that a forensic auditor be included to strengthen the financial investigation. On July 27, the Supreme Court said it would continue monitoring the investigation and asked the new SIT to submit an interim report within two weeks, stressing the need for a speedy and qualitative probe. Meanwhile, the original SIT's final report, submitted to the state government in August, flagged alleged lapses in the functioning of the Trust and deficiencies in financial and administrative management. It was subsequently handed over to the Trust. The report did not find evidence of direct financial impropriety by senior Trust leadership, according to a senior government officer. The second SIT, however, continued the criminal investigation arising from the June 25 FIR, examining the evidence against the accused and reconstructing the alleged thefts. With the chargesheet due by September 25, the case is now moving from the investigation stage towards trial....