New Delhi, June 30 -- The alleged donation embezzlement case linked to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya has taken a fresh turn, with sources in the State Bank of India (SBI) claiming that the bank had sought the replacement of the temple's cash-counting staff nearly three months before the alleged irregularities came to light.

According to the sources, SBI suspected that money was being siphoned from the temple's donation boxes and recommended replacing the employees responsible for counting the daily collections. The bank's proposal, however, was allegedly stalled after members of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust intervened, allowing the workers to continue, the sources claimed.

Earlier, Hindustan Times reported that the outsourc...