Clean chit to Champat Rai? SIT submits Ayodhya temple theft report

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh home department has handed over the Special Investigation Team’s (SIT) final report in the Ayodhya Ram temple donation theft case to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for further action, according to an official statement issued on Tuesday.The three-member SIT, headed by Lucknow divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, was constituted by the state government on June 13 at the request of the trust, before the Supreme Court intervened in the matter.Range Inspector General Kiran S and Special Secretary (Finance) Neel Ratan Kumar are the other members.According to news agency PTI, the panel submitted its preliminary report to the state government on June 23, making several stringent recommendations.Based on the preliminary report, trust member Krishnamohan filed a written complaint at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi police station, following which an FIR was registered on June 25.The FIR named eight people — Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu — along with other unidentified individuals as accused.The FIR does not mention the names of former Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai and former Trust member Anil Mishra.The accused were booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.The SIT’s preliminary report also formed the basis for subsequent FIR and arrest-related action in the case.(With agency inputs)You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Lucknow | Silver Rate in Lucknow | Bank Holidays in Lucknow | Public Holidays in Lucknow | Lucknow AQI | Weather in Lucknow | Petrol Price in Lucknow | Diesel Price in Lucknow | CNG Price in Lucknow | LPG Price in LucknowStay updated with the latest Lucknow news. Download the TOI App.