‘Everything documented’, Ram Mandir Trust responds to Sindhi community’s queries on 200 kg silver donations

Ayodhya, July 9 (IANS) The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has issued clarification regarding the 200 kg of silver donations to the Ram Mandir by members of the Sindhi community in 2021, addressing the community’s concerns and also informing that everything stands logged and documented in its records.

The clarification comes days after the Vishwa Sindhi Seva Sangam wrote to the Trust seeking details of 200 kg silver donated on January 26, 2021. The organisation had stated that the donors had neither received official receipts for their contribution nor were informed about how or where the silver had been used.

The Trust stated that all 200 silver bricks are properly recorded in its register of precious metals. It said that a decision was taken to melt the donated silver, along with other silver received by the Trust, to manufacture 20 kg silver bars of 99.99 per cent purity.

According to the Trust, the silver bars were prepared after following due procedure, and photographs documenting the weighing of the silver and the manufacturing process have also been shared as part of its response.

The Trust said that the newly manufactured silver bars are currently stored securely in a locker at the State Bank of India branch in Ayodhya and will be utilised for the Trust’s activities as and when required in the future.

The Trust has also requested the Vishwa Sindhi Seva Sangam to furnish the names, addresses, mobile numbers, PAN details, and email addresses of all the 200 donors so that individual official receipts can be issued to each contributor.

The clarification comes at a time when the Trust is also dealing with an ongoing investigation into the alleged theft of cash donations collected at the Ram Temple.

Earlier this week, police in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya approached a local court seeking custody of three accused arrested in connection with the alleged donation theft case. Investigators said custodial interrogation was necessary to examine their bank accounts and trace the financial trail of the recovered money. According to the police, cash amounting to Rs 14.25 lakh was recovered from accused Lavkush Mishra, Rs 16.82 lakh from Anukalp Mishra, and Rs 18.07 lakh from Karunesh Pandey.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government at the request of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, also submitted its preliminary report into the alleged financial irregularities.

The report also highlighted several procedural and supervisory lapses despite an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) with the State Bank of India. It pointed to the absence of proper frisking, biometric attendance, hundi-wise counting, enforcement of dress codes and restrictions on carrying personal belongings.

–IANS

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