The investigation into the Ram Mandir donation theft case has entered a new phase, with the state government handing over the lead probe to a senior police officer.
So far, all eight accused named in the FIR have been arrested and sent to jail. The FIR in the donation theft case was registered on June 25.
The case, which was earlier being investigated by Ayodhya circle officer (CO) Ashutosh Tewari, has now been assigned to Barabanki additional superintendent of police (ASP) Ritesh Kumar Singh, according to officials.
After the Supreme Court ordered an SIT headed by a senior officer, the state government constituted the second SIT under Kiran S. Other members of the team are DIG (Ayodhya) Somen Barma, Ayodhya SSP Gaurav Grover and Barabanki ASP Ritesh Kumar Singh.
The overall supervision and monitoring of the probe will be done by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by IG, Lucknow Range, Kiran S, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directions. The SIT is responsible for ensuring a thorough and impartial investigation. As the FIR also invoked provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the initial investigation was handed over to Ayodhya CO Ashutosh Tewari. With the new SIT in place, the case file has now been transferred to ASP Ritesh Singh, who will lead the investigation.
One or two more names could be added to the case as the investigation progresses, according to officials familiar with the matter.
