The Special Investigation Team (SIT) that looked into the alleged theft of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya has found no evidence against former general secretary Champat Rai. The team also cleared ex‑trust member Anil Mishra. Both officials had stepped down from their roles after accusations of siphoning temple funds.
The investigation was launched after the trust reported lapses in the handling of donations. An FIR was registered, and the SIT was asked to examine the matter.
The Uttar Pradesh Home Department has now handed the final SIT report to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for further action. The report was submitted on June 23 and contains several recommendations for tightening financial controls.
The three‑member SIT was formed on June 13. It was headed by Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, with Range Inspector General Kiran S and Special Secretary (Finance) Neel Ratan Kumar as members.
After the preliminary report, a complaint was filed by Trust member Krishnamohan at the local police station. This led to the filing of an FIR on June 25, naming eight alleged perpetrators and several unidentified persons.
The accused include Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu. They were booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The SIT’s findings have cleared the former officials, but the case against the named suspects remains open. The trust will now decide on further steps based on the report.