The Uttar Pradesh government has reconstituted the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged theft of cash donations at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya, and appointed Inspector General (Lucknow Range) Kiran S to head the new three-member committee, in compliance with the directions issued by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court had on July 20 asked the Uttar Pradesh government to look into the status of the ongoing police investigation under the same three-member Special Investigation Committee that first uncovered prima facie evidence of the alleged fraud.
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According to people familiar with the matter, the new SIT will have Kiran S as its chairman, while DIG (Ayodhya) Somin Barma and SSP (Ayodhya) Gaurav Grover will serve as members. Although the formation of the new committee has been agreed upon by state authorities, no official notification confirming the appointments has yet been issued as of the submission of this report.
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The reconstituted SIT replaces the previous panel headed by Lucknow District Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, an IAS officer. Kieran S was also a member of the former Special Investigation Team and has now been tasked with leading the criminal investigation.
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The newly formed Special Investigation Team is expected to submit its first interim report before the Supreme Court on July 27, people familiar with the matter said.
The initial SIT was formed on June 13 at the request of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. It submitted its nine-page preliminary report on June 23, following which the Ayodhya police registered an FIR against eight people allegedly involved in misappropriation of donations during the counting process. The eight defendants have since been arrested.
