NEW DELHI: Amid the probe into alleged embezzlement of donations and valuables at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, it is learnt that 60 kg of silver bars are missing from the temple’s collection records, deepening the mystery surrounding the handling of offerings.
The silver bars were reportedly offered to Ram Lalla during the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ (consecration) ceremony and intended to be placed in the temple’s foundation. India Today has accessed photographs of the offerings.
For the past six days, the special investigation team (SIT) has attempted to gather documentation and verify the current status of the silver bars. However, officials have yet to establish a clear trail of the offerings or determine what happened to them.
According to sources, investigators have been unable to trace records detailing the receipt, storage or use of the silver bars.
The Jewellers Association, which donated the silver, maintains that it possesses a receipt confirming the handover of the bars to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
Anurag Rastogi, president of the association, said 60 kg of silver bars were prepared with contributions from jewellers across the country and donated to the temple.
According to Rastogi, the bars were not seen during the foundation-laying rituals or later construction work and subsequently went missing.
The SIT is now attempting to determine where the silver bars are and whether they were recorded in official inventories.
As part of the probe, officials have questioned Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu, Krishnadev Tiwari and four priests associated with Ram Lalla.
Tiwari, who oversees jewellery and offerings, reportedly denied any knowledge of the silver bars, as well as a missing necklace and charan paduka (divine sandals) that are also under scrutiny.
The three-member SIT team, comprising Lucknow Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, Inspector General Kiran S and Special Secretary Neelratan Kumar, recently reviewed the case and examined the sequence of events surrounding the handling of donations and valuables.
They have also sought details from priests and others involved in receiving and safeguarding offerings. The team is examining procedures for collecting, preserving and documenting precious items donated by devotees.
The inquiry stems from allegations that gold, silver and diamond ornaments offered at the temple were replaced with fake items and that cash donations were siphoned off from temple collections.
