105 donation theft incidents caught on CCTV at Ayodhya Ram temple, SC informed
New Delhi: As many as 105 incidents of alleged donation theft at the Ram temple in Ayodhya were captured on the temple’s CCTV cameras, the Supreme Court was informed on Monday.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, referring to the status report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged donation theft, presented details of the investigation before a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V.
Mehta informed the court that the SIT investigation was nearing completion and that the chargesheet would be filed by September 25. The court directed the magistrate to take action on the chargesheet in accordance with law.
The SIT has identified all those allegedly involved in the case. The team submitted a status report detailing the progress of the investigation, which the Supreme Court perused. The court was informed about the arrests made so far and the evidence collected in connection with the alleged donation theft.
The report explained how CCTV footage and other materials were analysed to identify the accused. It also stated that receipts for valuables were generated using software and that the valuables were stored in a State Bank of India locker.
The petitioners who had approached the Supreme Court over the alleged donation theft sought a copy of the SIT report. However, the court rejected the request.
The Uttar Pradesh government had constituted an SIT in June following allegations concerning the management of donations.
A special court has rejected the bail pleas of three of the eight people arrested in the Ram temple donation theft case.
Avinash Shukla, Manish Kumar Yadav and Ram Shankar Mishra had sought bail.