Questions have been raised over the handling of cash and valuables donated at the Ayodhya Ram Temple, with an article by S. S. Anil, All India President of the Bank Employees Federation of India, alleging irregularities involving donation counting, outsourcing arrangements and the role of bank and trust officials.
The article states that investigations are ongoing into alleged theft of cash and jewellery donated by devotees. It says officials associated with the State Bank of India were questioned in connection with the matter and argues that the arrangement for counting temple offerings warrants closer scrutiny.
According to the article, SBI is the official banker for the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. It says the bank was responsible for ensuring that offerings collected at the temple were counted and deposited into the trust’s SBI accounts at the Ayodhya branch.
Questions Raised Over Donation Counting Arrangement
The article claims that after SBI entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the temple trust, the responsibility for counting cash donations was outsourced.
It further alleges that the contract was effectively given to the trust itself, which then deployed its own employees for cash counting. The article argues that this arrangement weakened accountability because the people handling the donations were not permanent bank employees.
It also claims that many of the workers involved had been appointed on the recommendation of trustee Anil Mishra, who is described in the article as having supervised the counting and safekeeping of temple donations.
The piece alleges that Mishra had intervened in the appointment of 125 people as trust employees, including several relatives, and further claims that commissions were accepted from some of those who were not relatives. These are allegations presented in the article and are not independently substantiated in the screenshots.
SBI Official’s Role Comes Under Scrutiny
The article also discusses SBI Chief Manager Adikhya Raghuram Sagar, who was posted to Ayodhya in 2021 and later transferred to Badaun before returning to Ayodhya in April 2024.
According to the article, Sagar served at SBI’s Regional Business Office and handled coordination between the bank and the temple trust, as well as matters relating to the bank’s digital banking division.
It further states that he frequently spent time at the trust office and helped arrange facilities for visiting SBI and Reserve Bank of India officials and their families, including access to VIP passes for temple visits.
The article also highlights that Sagar had been living with his family in a house owned by Anil Mishra for several years. It presents this association as part of the circumstances requiring examination in the investigation.
Article Links Outsourcing to Wider Accountability Concerns
The article says a Special Investigation Team of the Uttar Pradesh government questioned Mishra over allegations involving missing temple funds and valuables. It also claims that Mishra’s name was not mentioned in the FIR connected with the incident.
Beyond the specific allegations, the piece uses the Ayodhya case to criticise outsourcing in public sector banking. It argues that cash handling is a core banking function and contends that such work should be performed by permanent employees.
The article says the controversy illustrates what it considers the risks created when responsibilities involving public money and valuables are shifted to outsourced personnel.
It also raises broader questions about safeguards governing devotees’ offerings, accountability within banking arrangements connected to religious institutions, and the degree of oversight exercised when sensitive financial functions are delegated outside the permanent workforce.
