Ram Temple Donation Embezzlement: Security Firm Denies Involvement

Varanasi: A private security agency whose recruits were deployed at the cash-handling unit linked to the Ram temple donation management has denied any role in the alleged embezzlement of offerings, saying it recruited personnel for the State Bank of India (SBI) at the bank's request.

The clarification came amid the ongoing probe into the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, in which six of the agency's recruits are among the eight people arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Gaurav Singh, director of Sainik Security Services, told PTI on Wednesday that the company had recruited 22 personnel and sent them to the SBI's Ayodhya branch for housekeeping work and had no role in assigning their duties thereafter.

"Our company has nothing to do with the alleged donation theft at the Ram temple. We recruited 22 people and sent them to the SBI branch in Ayodhya for housekeeping work. What work the bank assigned to them thereafter is not known to us," Singh told PTI.

He claimed that all 22 personnel were recruited on the instructions of the chief manager of the SBI's Ayodhya branch.

"The chief manager of the SBI branch in Ayodhya had sent us the list of names and biodata of these 22 people. They were all earlier working with another agency," Singh said.

He further said his company does not undertake contracts for temples and had only supplied manpower to the SBI branch.

"We were engaged only to provide housekeeping staff to the SBI branch in Ayodhya. What duties these employees eventually performed and why they performed them is for the bank to explain," he said.

Singh said the SIT was investigating the matter, and the agency had shared all the information sought by the investigators.

The statement assumes significance as sources in the SBI had earlier told PTI that the bank wanted to replace the outsourced cash-counting staff at the Ram temple around three months ago after suspecting irregularities in the handling of donations. However, they alleged that members of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust did not allow the staff to be changed.

The alleged embezzlement came to light after an SIT constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government submitted its preliminary findings, following which an FIR was registered on June 25.

Eight accused were subsequently arrested, and police said nearly Rs 80 lakh in cash, besides some foreign currency, has been recovered so far from six of them. The investigation is continuing.