Uttar Pradesh Reconstitutes SIT to Probe Ram Temple Donation Embezzlement

Ram Temple Special Investigation Team donation theft Supreme Court Kiran S

The Supreme Court of India directed the Uttar Pradesh government on 13 July to form a fresh Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate alleged misappropriation of cash offerings at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, setting a deadline of 27 July for a status report.

The reconstituted SIT is headed by Inspector General Kiran S and includes Deputy Inspector General Somen Verma and Senior Superintendent of Police Gaurav Grover, replacing the earlier panel that had comprised Lucknow Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant and Special Secretary (Finance) Neel Ratan Kumar.

Eight suspects have been arrested and authorities have recovered cash, gold and vehicles linked to the alleged theft. The court has scheduled a batch of petitions for a Monday hearing to monitor the investigation and ensure it proceeds without political interference.

The Ram Temple Trust has introduced additional safeguards, such as live CCTV monitoring of donation counting and the presence of an Assistant General Manager of Indian Bank alongside a Swarna Rajat Finance representative. It also announced plans for a permanent institute to train and certify Hindu priests for India and the diaspora.

Entities: Chief Justice Surya Kant · DIG Somen Verma · Deputy Inspector General Somen Verma · Inspector General Kiran S · Ram Temple Trust · SSP Gaurav Grover · Senior Superintendent of Police Gaurav Grover · Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust · Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple · Supreme Court of India · Supreme Court of India (Chief Justice Surya Kant) · Uttar Pradesh Government

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.

[● 10 SOURCES] The new SIT is headed by Inspector General Kiran S, with Deputy Inspector General Somen Verma and Senior Superintendent of Police Gaurav Grover as members. (team composition)
[● 6 SOURCES] The Ram Temple Trust introduced live CCTV monitoring of donation counting and required the presence of an Assistant General Manager of Indian Bank and a Swarna Rajat Finance representative during cash (trust reforms)
[● 8 SOURCES] The new SIT is led by Inspector General Kiran S and includes Deputy Inspector General Somen Verma and Senior Superintendent of Police Gaurav Grover. (belonging_articles)
[● 8 SOURCES] The previous SIT comprised Lucknow Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant and Special Secretary (Finance) Neel Ratan Kumar. (previous team members)
[● 10 SOURCES] The Supreme Court set a deadline of 27 July for the SIT to submit a status report. (court deadline)
[● 10 SOURCES] Eight persons have been arrested and cash, gold and vehicles have been recovered in connection with the alleged donation theft. (arrests and assets)
[● 5 SOURCES] The Trust placed personnel to manage transactions through the State Bank of India to prevent theft. (belonging_articles)
[● 6 SOURCES] The Supreme Court bench hearing the case was led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohan. (Yes)
[● 7 SOURCES] The Supreme Court set a deadline of July 27 for the SIT to submit a status report. (Supreme Court order)
[● 3 SOURCES] Cash, gold, vehicles and other assets were recovered from the arrested suspects. (Police investigation reports)
[● 6 SOURCES] The alleged theft concerns misappropriation of cash offerings at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya. (Multiple reports)
[● 11 SOURCES] The Supreme Court on July 13 directed the Uttar Pradesh government to constitute a fresh SIT led by a senior IPS officer. (court directive)