Congress demands Supreme Court-monitored probe into Ram temple donation embezzlement case

The Congress on Thursday demanded a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into the alleged embezzlement of donations made to the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader KC Venugopal said the allegations had caused “deep anguish and outrage” among millions of Indians.

He also alleged that a preliminary investigation indicated that the fraud was not the work of “few rogue employees” but was “orchestrated with the complicity of higher-ups instead”.

Further, Venugopal questioned the probe by the Special Investigation Team constituted by the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh on June 13. He said the SIT and the first information filed in the matter on June 25 were an “eyewash”.

“A state-appointed SIT is neither equipped nor institutionally independent to investigate individuals wielding immense political institutional influence,” the Congress leader said in his letter.

He added that there was “growing apprehension” that the probe was a means to “erase the remaining evidence while shielding the ‘big fish’ who allegedly orchestrated this multi-crore embezzlement”.

On June 23, the SIT submitted its preliminary report to the Uttar Pradesh government. The contents of the report have not been made public.

However, unidentified persons aware of its contents told The Indian Express that the report highlighted alleged lapses, inadequate supervision and negligence in the handling, maintenance and...

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