Ayodhya: ‘Who is the mole among us?’ This question, recorded in former Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai’s communication with close confidante, raises concern inside the temple management over how Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav came to know about the Ram temple donation theft while an internal inquiry was still underway.
Rai asks who passed the information to Yadav and how details of the sensitive case travelled outside the temple premises. The question emerged as the temple management was simultaneously tracing the missing money, questioning counting staff and recovering cash from their homes.
Money trail investigation begins
The sequence began on June 4 when Rai was travelling to Ayodhya by train number 14206 Delhi-Ayodhya Express. At around 9.30 pm, he received a WhatsApp message from worker Anand Chaudhary informing him that a bundle of currency notes had been found in the toilet of the hundi counting room.
The amount was around Rs 2.25 lakh.
When Rai reached Ayodhya the next day, the temple management began examining CCTV footage to find out how the money had reached the toilet and who had handled it. Suspicion fell on three employees who had worked in the second shift in the counting room.
Employees questioned over cash
On the night of June 5, the three men were stopped while leaving for home and questioned. The inquiry soon moved to their houses, with the employees being asked to bring money from their homes. Separate amounts were subsequently recovered.
Gopal Rao informed Rai that the suspects had been caught and suggested that an FIR be registered. Rai, however, decided against filing an FIR at that stage. He directed that the police personnel deployed inside the Ram Janmabhoomi complex be informed about the incident.
The following day, the inquiry intensified. Rai was scheduled to travel to Etawah on June 6 but cancelled his programme and reached the Yatri Suvidha Kendra building inside the temple complex. Dr Anil Mishra, the SP Security, the RMO and the in-charge of the complex police post were present there.
Probe expands further
The three youths were brought back for questioning at night. According to Rai’s diary, they were told that police action could damage their future. They then began arranging for money to be brought from their homes.
As questioning continued, names of other people emerged. They too were called in. Those against whom the evidence was not considered sufficient were handed over to their fathers.
By around 9 pm, the recovered money had been placed in separate bags. Each bag was marked with the name of the person concerned, the name of the person who brought the money, the date and the amount recovered.
The probe widened further on June 7 after CCTV footage allegedly showed some other people taking money from the counting area. They were called for questioning and asked to bring money from their homes.
Recovered cash secured
In one case, a team was sent to a village near Rudauli. The person under suspicion took out a bag containing money from his house and handed it over to the team.
Another suspect was not found at his home. Police traced his mobile location and, according to the diary, located him in a village near the Nepal border in Bahraich district. He was subsequently caught at the level of the SP Security.
All the recovered money was eventually kept in a large safe.
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Information leak raises questions
It was during this period that the issue of the information leak began to worry the temple management.
Akhilesh Yadav had made a strong statement in Lucknow about the donation theft. The temple administration was now faced with two questions: where had the money gone and how had details of the incident reached a political leader outside the temple management?
Rai records that at around 8 pm that evening, he, Dr Anil Mishra and the SP Security went to the residence of then SSP Dr Gaurav Grover. After discussions, Rai prepared a four to five-line statement for the media.
But the larger question remained. Who had told Akhilesh Yadav about the theft?
