NEW DELHI: Indian police are investigating allegations of embezzlement at a temple in the country’s north that has been a focal point of Prime Minster Narendra Modi’s Hindu-first politics, a top state official said Friday.
The Ram Mandir temple in Uttar Pradesh state, built on grounds where a mosque stood for centuries before being torn down by Hindu zealots, was inaugurated in 2024 with great fanfare by Modi himself.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that a Special Investigations Team (SIT) had been set up to look into alleged syphoning of cash offerings made by devotees.
“We have set up an SIT inquiry on the recommendation of the trust” the administers the temple, said Adityanath, a firebrand Hindu monk, at a public function.
“If anyone has any documentary proof, please provide it to the SIT,” he added.
