India, July 28 -- The Supreme Court on Monday took note of setting up of a four-member SIT headed by IGP Kiran S to probe alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya and asked the Uttar Pradesh government to also include a forensic auditor in the probe team. Observing that "remedial actions will have to be taken", a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said steps will be taken to "ensure transparency". Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state government, said that a forensic auditor will also be made a part of the SIT. He said: "We have constituted an SIT headed by Inspector General of Police Mr Kiran S. There is one deputy inspector general (DIG), one senior superintendent of police (SSP) and one additional superintendent of police (ASP)."
The SIT, which was set up on July 25, has taken up the ongoing investigation in the case, he said. Senior advocate Devdatt Kamat, appearing for one of the petitioners, said that people have given Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes as donations. "Ultimately the money has not reached the Trust. Whatever the Trust got may be shown on a website so that people will know that their money has reached. This is not adversarial (litigation)," he said. The bench said that the SIT will have access to everything and moreover the case was not being closed at the moment. "Right now you all note down the issues. Right now, our entire focus is on investigation. We must have a speedy and qualitative investigation. We are asking them to submit a report to us. The rest we will decide at a later stage," the bench said.
The bench directed the SIT to submit a status report in two weeks and posted the pleas for further consideration after that. On July 20, the bench had asked the Uttar Pradesh government to apprise it about the possibility of setting up an SIT to probe the alleged embezzlement of donations. Meanwhile, the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has initiated a comprehensive review of its financial systems in the wake of the offering theft case. At a meeting of the Trust's Finance Committee, members discussed measures to strengthen transparency and tighten safeguards in the handling of donations. Acting General Secretary Krishna Mohan directed that salaries and payments to Trust employees, engineers and contractual staff should be released on time without any delay. The committee resolved to introduce stronger digital safeguards by maintaining a secure audit trail for every financial transaction. Regular internal reviews of donation receipts, deposits and disbursements will be conducted to detect irregularities at an early stage. The Trust is also considering strengthening its coordination with the bank by introducing enhanced alert and verification mechanisms.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.