It is difficult to say how long the donations were being stolen. Opposition leaders came to know about this first and then SP chief Akhilesh Yadav spoke publicly for the first time about the whole incident. When this happened, Champat Rai, general secretary of the temple trust, claimed that everything was fine and denied any wrongdoing in the donation. What was the rush? After this denial, it was revealed that money was recovered from the hideouts of certain persons. It was also found that the people involved in the donation calculations suddenly improved financially and were buying land worth millions and crores. It was also revealed that those who offered jewelery to Lord Rama were not given donation receipts, and some were told that the silver or gold they had donated had been melted. It was also revealed that donation boxes were not being properly monitored and donations were not being counted.

When an alleged internal inquiry revealed serious irregularities, the temple trust sought an inquiry from the state government. This led to the formation of the SIT. Earlier, Ram Mandir Nirman Samiti chairman Nripendra Mishra, who said his role was only to oversee construction, suddenly appeared on TV channels and said there were significant deficiencies in monitoring and vigilance of donation boxes. He implicitly emphasized the seriousness of the matter by describing the theft of charity as robbery. He also started emphasizing the need for a CEO to oversee the temple management. Why was this need not realized earlier? Indeed, there is not just one but many such questions. It is difficult to understand why all the officers of the Trust were not actively involved in the management of the temple. Why does it appear that some members were members in name only? Was it because a few individuals had established their dominance? Whatever the truth may be, it is strange that no one has dared to take moral responsibility after this matter came to light which hurt the faith of millions. No one has offered to resign even after the investigation was completed.

Trust officers of such a famous and prestigious temple should have been prepared to demonstrate moral integrity. Ram Mandir is a temple of Lord Rama, an incarnation of Marya Purushottam (the Almighty). The administrators of this temple should have displayed a high level of etiquette. Will he resign only when the SIT declares his role suspicious, or when he is found guilty in the police investigation? Non-filing of FIR in this case raises many questions. If this work has to be done sooner or later, what is the justification for the delay? This is not a case where the duty will be discharged by rectifying the defects in the accounting and maintenance of donations. Trust will not be restored without severely punishing those who commit the sin of stealing alms and removing from the system those whose negligence caused it. All possible measures should be taken to restore trust.

If necessary, the Ram Mandir Trust should be dissolved and reconstituted, as this case is not only embezzlement of crores of rupees but also hurt the sentiments of millions of people. Hence there can be no greater irony that the temple, which should have been managed ideally, is not being managed in the same way. There is an urgent need to account for why this is not happening. It is sad that even this minimum requirement has not yet been met. Any matter, especially that which involves the faith and devotion of the people, should not only be properly investigated, but should also be seen to be done properly. The formation of the SIT is a step in this direction, but it cannot be considered enough, as almost 15 days have passed and no action has been taken against anyone. The case has dealt another setback to the campaign to free temples from government control.

(The writer is associate editor at Dainik Jagran)