Varanasi: A Varanasi-based private security agency that supplied personnel for cash handling and security duties at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya has come under the scanner of investigators probing the alleged embezzlement of devotees' donations. Six of the eight accused arrested in the case were employed by the agency.
The agency, Sainik Security Services, had provided 22 employees for deployment at the Ram Temple complex. These personnel were entrusted with duties related to the security of the temple and its treasury, including counting cash offerings made by devotees.
Investigators are now scrutinising the recruitment process of the employees and have questioned several staff members, the agency's supervisor and its management. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) is also probing whether proper background verification of the personnel was carried out before they were deployed at the high-security temple complex.
According to officials familiar with the investigation, all 22 employees supplied by the agency are residents of Ayodhya. They were recruited by the Varanasi-based firm and sent for deployment at the temple after a recommendation from officials of the State Bank of India branch in Ayodhya.
"Our agency is 26 years old. The bank had asked us to provide employees. They were hired on the recommendation of the bank and deployed accordingly," agency director Gaurav Singh said.
He maintained that the agency only acted as a manpower provider and had no role in the functioning of the donation counting system.
"We were asked by the bank to provide staff. We supplied 22 employees to the temple trust. They were engaged for housekeeping and allied duties and were deployed after the bank sought manpower from us," Singh said.
Sources in the investigation said the SIT has already questioned the agency owner and its supervisor. Investigators are examining whether adequate verification of the employees was carried out before they were entrusted with duties involving the handling of temple donations.
The alleged donation theft has triggered a major controversy, with the probe widening to examine possible administrative lapses and accountability in the system used for counting and safeguarding devotees' offerings.
The case assumed significance after police arrested eight accused, six of whom are linked to the Varanasi-based security agency. The SIT is now trying to determine whether there were systemic failures in recruitment and supervision that enabled the alleged embezzlement of funds from one of the country's most revered temples.
