105 Cash Pilferage Instances Caught on CCTV at Ram Mandir Counting Centre: SIT

Diversion of donations from the Ram Mandir here allegedly took place during the cash-counting process, involving a network of people who removed, concealed and distributed the money, according to a nearly 70,000-page chargesheet filed by the Supreme Court-mandated special investigation team (SIT).

The chargesheet cites 105 instances of cash being allegedly removed or concealed from the counting area, captured on CCTV cameras. Investigators also recovered thousands of messages, cash and valuables during the probe.

Eight accused Anukalp Mishra, Avinash Shukla alias Shani, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu and Subhash Srivastava have been named in the chargesheet and are in judicial custody.

The case was registered on June 25 following a complaint by Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust member Krishna Mohan, after a preliminary SIT inquiry into alleged irregularities in donation handling. The SIT said it identified the alleged instances by examining CCTV footage and corroborating it with digital evidence, witness statements, banking records and a forensic audit. It found no evidence of pilferage during the subsequent transfer of counted money to banks.

Police recovered Rs 79.85 lakh allegedly linked to the suspected embezzlement from seven accused. More than 3,000 deleted messages were also recovered from the accused's phones, with investigators alleging that some conversations discussed removing, concealing and distributing cash.

The chargesheet describes Anukalp Mishra as the alleged main conspirator. CCTV footage allegedly showed Avinash Shukla removing donation money on 85 occasions, while Mishra, Karunesh Pandey and Lavkush Mishra were allegedly involved on 56, 68 and 52 occasions, respectively.

The investigation also examined Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu, a former Trust general secretary's driver, who allegedly had access to the counting room and keys to donation boxes. The court has directed that copies of the chargesheet and related documents be supplied to all eight accused. They are scheduled to appear before the court on October 7.