The Special Investigation Team probing the donation theft scandal at the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya has submitted a preliminary report pointing the finger at 17 lower-rung personnel. The magnitude of theft varies from a little to a lot depending on who’s doing the toting. Beyond the sums involved, it is clear that a deeper probe is needed to identify the gaping holes in the temple’s counting and accounting processes. It becomes the responsibility also of the BJP-led Union government, which built the temple after massive political mobilisation nationwide to explain why it did not institute pilfer-proof systems in its administration.
Details of the theft indicate that some basic safeguards common to popular temples in south India were not put into place, belying the claims of the UP and central governments that they were building a ‘bhavya Ram mandir’ that would match or surpass the scale of the most popular temples in the country. Not only are pilgrims to Ayodhya justified in feeling betrayed, but this episode also illustrates the point that the political fervour that went into building the temple did not translate into diligence in governing it.
The state and central governments cannot hide behind the ruse that systems at the temple are still evolving since the consecration in January 2024 and that the administration has been caught unawares by pilgrim inflows and donations. They could have learnt from the best practices followed at any number of temples countrywide that receive many more pilgrims without missing a stride.
According to the administration, there are about 35 donation boxes installed across the temple complex. Cash deposited in them is counted under surveillance, with both bank personnel and temple involved. Yet, preliminary findings show that money dropped into the donation boxes was being siphoned off before accounting. Some unaccounted cash was, in fact, found in a washroom in the temple complex and at the house of an official. Keys to the donation boxes were entrusted to a lone employee, who kept them at home. These facts speak of rank amateurism at a place of worship handling lakhs of devotees' footfalls daily.
Even more astonishing are the accounting discrepancies relating to valuables donated by devotees, including a gift of 60 kg of silver bars by an association of jewellers. Investigators reportedly could not locate the relevant entries in the records. Most glaringly, it has come to light that CCTV footage of the counting process is kept without backup for only 45 days. To any investigator, this would be a classic red flag meant to serve as a loophole for theft.
There is a strong case for the central government to take over the investigation. This was a temple built by it on the plea that a magnificent edifice at the birthplace of Ram would be an expression of ‘national culture’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself participated in its consecration and seconded important members of his staff to oversee its construction. Now, one of them, Nripendra Mishna, chairman of the Ram Temple Construction Committee, has himself said there are unmistakable signs of ‘robbery’ and lax administration. It’s not good enough for him now to say he was only in charge of the construction, not the management. The BJP-led government always claimed it was its bounden duty to build that temple; therefore, its governance in good faith becomes its moral responsibility now.