The Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has introduced sweeping changes to its donation counting process following the alleged Ram Temple donation theft case, tightening security protocols and staff verification as investigations continue.
In the amended system, employees collecting the money donations will have to wear uniforms without pockets, pass mandatory police verification, and work under close surveillance. Administrative reforms are introduced following the resignation of 23 employees engaged in donation counting.
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Such measures are expected to ensure greater transparency of the process and avoid any further complications regarding the donation accounting.
What has changed in the Ram Mandir donation counting process?
According to the new rules adopted by the Trust, a specially formed team will count the donations that have been collected from the donation boxes of the temple.
The housekeeping employees, who previously had the donation counting duties, will not be involved in the process anymore but will have to go back to their previous jobs.
The employees who count the donations will have to wear clothes without pockets in order to prevent any opportunities of hiding money while counting the donations. Furthermore, the Trust requires mandatory police-verified character certificates from all temple employees working with money.
The Trust is also expected to recruit fresh personnel under the revised norms following the resignations.
Why did 23 employees resign?
The stricter rules have coincided with the resignation of 23 employees who were earlier involved in counting donations.
According to reports, the resignations were submitted to the private contracting agency that had employed the staff. The Trust is now expected to induct new personnel after completing enhanced background verification and security checks.
The administrative changes come in the backdrop of the ongoing Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the alleged misappropriation of donations made by devotees.
Donation theft probe continues
The charges of embezzlement were revealed as the investigation team discovered some irregularities in the donations’ management at the temple.
An extension period of 15 days was granted to the Special Investigation Team by the government of Uttar Pradesh for expanding their jurisdiction of investigation.
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The former general secretary of the Trust, Champat Rai, resigned from his post following the controversy. To date, eight people related to the process of collecting and counting donations have been arrested.
The investigating team has also confiscated a large amount of money from the accused people, which includes ₹20.39 lakh from Avinash Shukla, ₹18.07 lakh from Karunesh Pandey, ₹16.82 lakh from Anukalp Mishra, ₹14.25 lakh from Lavkush Mishra, ₹7.32 lakh from Ramashankar Mishra, and ₹1 lakh from Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu.
FAQs
Why is it now mandatory for Ram Mandir employees to wear pocketless clothing?
A pocketless uniform has been provided by the Trust to the donation counting personnel in order to avoid any theft or tampering in handling the donation made by the devotees.theft or tampering while handling devotees’ contributions.
How many people have been arrested in the Ram Mandir donation theft case?
So far, eight people linked to the temple’s donation collection and counting process have been arrested as the SIT investigation continues.