Ayodhya: After a controversy erupted over the alleged embezzlement of donations made at the Ram Temple and the subsequent arrest of eight accused, no new outsourced employee has been hired by the Temple Trust, sources said on Thursday.
According to the State Bank of India (SBI) sources, the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust had recruited staff through an outsourcing agency after the surge in devotees during the Mahakumbh last year. These recruits were primarily hired as housekeeping staff.
The Ram Temple Trust’s primary bank account is maintained at the SBI branch, where investigators are examining the possible role of bank officials in the case.
Police are expected to question the branch manager and record his statement as part of the probe.
Sources privy to the matter said that the recruitment did not require any specifically qualified personnel because the outsourced employees were not assigned the task of counting cash.
Bank sources also said that the outsourced workers were reportedly responsible only for straightening crumpled currency notes and arranging them into proper bundles.
The actual counting of the cash was carried out by SBI bank employees. Their role was limited to flattening and organising the notes that devotees had folded before placing them into the donation boxes.
The cash counting was done by SBI personnel using high-tech currency counting machines. These machines could automatically sort mixed denominations such as Rs 500, Rs 200, and Rs 100 notes, while also detecting counterfeit currency.
Counting-in charge Subhash Srivastava, who maintained records related to the donation box counting process and was held accountable for oversight failures along with former Trustee Anil Mishra, was also not an SBI employee, sources said.
Moreover, sources added that a former SBI manager, who is currently posted at another branch outside Ayodhya, is now on the Ayodhya Police’s radar. He, along with the bank employees involved in counting the temple donations, may soon be questioned.
In addition, former Ram Temple Trustee Anil Mishra, who signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the bank, may also have his statement recorded later this week
(IANS)
