UP Overhauls SIT Probing Ayodhya Temple Donation Theft

The Uttar Pradesh government has replaced the team investigating the alleged theft of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, installing three senior police officers to lead the probe. The move follows a July 13 Supreme Court order directing the state to form a new Special Investigation Team under a senior IPS officer, the court said.

Inspector General Kiran S will head the reconstituted SIT. Deputy Inspector General Somen Verma and Senior Superintendent of Police Gaurav Grover, both based in Ayodhya, will serve as members. The previous team had been led by Lucknow Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant and included a finance department official, a composition the Supreme Court found unsuitable for a criminal investigation.

The case centers on offerings, or chadhava, made by devotees at the temple. The earlier SIT reviewed CCTV footage, donation registers, cash-handling procedures, and financial records. It questioned temple employees and submitted a preliminary report flagging irregularities in how the offerings were counted and deposited, according to sources familiar with the probe.