NEW DELHI, July 20: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to apprise it about the possibility of setting up an SIT to probe the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya and cautioned the litigants not to politicise the issue.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, to take instructions on whether the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which had examined the entire issue before the registration of the FIR, could be entrusted with the responsibility to probe the case instead of the local police.
“Just a word of caution. Please don’t politicise the issue. The courts are not a place for politics. It is a simple case of commission of crime. We are (here) just to ensure a proper investigation,” the CJI said.
At the outset, Mehta said that in compliance with an earlier order, the state government has filed a status report.“Investigation is going on. Eight persons were arrested. I cannot divulge much,” he said.
NEW TEAM TO COUNT RAM TEMPLE DONATION IN TWO SHIFTS UNDER SBI SUPERVISION
In the wake of the donation embezzlement row, the Ram Temple trust in Ayodhya has deployed a new team for the counting of cash offerings in donation boxes, introducing a two-shift system under the supervision of the State Bank of India (SBI), according to temple and bank sources.The exercise began on Sunday after the completion of a week-long trial, following which the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust formally entrusted SBI with the counting process, bank sources said.
According to temple sources, a team of 10 to 12 people has been deployed in each shift. The first shift operates from 8 am to 2 pm, while the second runs from 2 pm to 8 pm.
The trust has appointed Shobhnath Mishra as the new in-charge for cash counting after the previous in-charge, Subhash Shrivastava, was sent to jail in the donation theft case, sources said. To strengthen oversight, the trust has deployed four supervisors, including an ex-serviceman as the counting in-charge. (PTI)
