Overview
- The Uttar Pradesh government formed a three‑member Special Investigation Team after the temple trust requested an inquiry; the panel includes Vijay Vishwas Pant, Kiran S and Neel Ratan and has been working on site in Ayodhya since mid‑June.
- On Friday Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath urged residents to hand evidence to the SIT, set a 15‑day timeline for results and warned that anyone found guilty will not be spared.
- The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has denied any wrongdoing and asked for an impartial probe while cooperating with investigators.
- Investigators have questioned trust members and staff, including Dr. Anil Mishra and general secretary Champat Rai, and are focusing on how cash was counted, who was appointed to handle donations and the accounting and bank records.
- The row stems from a claim by former SP MLA Pawan Pandey that about ₹7–7.5 crore in offerings are unaccounted for and has prompted opposition demands for audited, itemised statements, CCTV disclosure and FCRA details as political pressure grows ahead of state polls.