New Delhi, 22 June (H.S.):

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will visit the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on Friday to offer prayers. Kejriwal shared the information on Monday through a post on social media platform X.

In his post, Kejriwal wrote, Every Sanatani is deeply saddened by the alleged theft of offerings at the Ayodhya Shri Ram Temple. He further said that he would visit the Shri Ram Temple on Friday to offer prayers.

It is noteworthy that allegations of embezzlement involving donations and offerings made by devotees at the Ayodhya Ram Temple surfaced earlier this month after the internal audit conducted by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust reportedly found significant irregularities.

Following the allegations of financial discrepancies, CCTV footage from the temple premises and donation boxes was examined, during which the conduct of certain employees posted at the site came under suspicion. Subsequently, two contractual employees were taken into custody and questioned. During interrogation, authorities reportedly recovered cash amounting to several lakh rupees, which the accused had allegedly hidden in a pile of cow dung near the temple premises to avoid detection.

Following the initial revelations, the Uttar Pradesh government acted promptly at the request of the Trust and, on June 13, constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter thoroughly. The SIT reached Ayodhya on June 16 and began an intensive investigation. It has since prepared a detailed interim report of around 140 pages and submitted it to the Chief Minister's Office.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar