Champat Rai Grilled for Three Hours in Ram Temple theft.

Ayodhya: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the multi-crore Ram Temple donation theft case on Monday interrogated Champat Rai, the former general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, for nearly three hours. According to high-placed sources within the police department, the high-profile interrogation took place in Ayodhya, where Rai reportedly left several crucial questions unanswered regarding the temple's internal financial oversight mechanisms.

This marks the very first time investigators have recorded Rai's formal statement since he stepped down from his administrative post on June 27, taking moral responsibility after an FIR was lodged. Sources revealed that investigators tightly questioned Rai on the precise protocol governing the receipt, custody, and daily bank deposits of cash offerings dropped into the temple's donation boxes. Furthermore, the SIT pressed him for details regarding the specific actions he took upon first noticing discrepancies in the cash-counting division.  

During the intense three-hour questioning session, Rai categorically denied any personal involvement or wrongdoing in the scam. He explicitly maintained that the standard arrests were initiated based on his own internal complaints once the financial irregularities came to light. However, insiders indicate that Rai appeared evasive when pressed on how a staggering amount, estimated between seven to seven and a half crore rupees, could be systematically siphoned off without attracting immediate red flags from the trust's top management.  

The expanding financial fraud case centers heavily on eight arrested individuals, including six temple staffers who were allegedly captured on CCTV cameras stealing bundles of cash. Among those remanded to judicial custody is Ram Shankar Yadav, alias Tinnu Yadav, who previously served as Rai's personal driver. As political pressure continues to mount across Uttar Pradesh, the SIT is expanding its web to grill more bank officials and trust functionaries.