Two key functionaries failed to enforce security protocols for temple donations.LUCKNOW: The Special Investigation Team has identified that two key functionaries—former Trust member Anil Mishra and counting in-charge Subhash Srivastava—occupied pivotal positions in the donation management system and their failure to enforce security protocols enabled the theft and embezzlement of temple donations.According to the SIT, Anil Mishra was at the centre of the Trust’s financial oversight and donation management mechanism. He supervised financial affairs, monitored the cash collection process and represented the Trust in drafting the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) with the bank governing the counting and deposit of donations. Investigators said this made Mishra directly responsible for ensuring that the safeguards laid down in the SOPs were effectively implemented.The SIT report states that Mishra was informed through internal channels that mandatory frisking of counting personnel was not being carried out. Yet, he failed to issue written directions to restore compliance or strengthen security. The SIT further noted that he did not ensure enforcement of biometric attendance, mandatory dress code, prohibition on personal belongings inside the counting room, hundi-wise counting, denomination-wise documentation and daily reporting.“As the architect of the SOPs on behalf of the Trust, Mishra was expected to continuously monitor its implementation. His failure to do so weakened the safeguards and created circumstances conducive to theft and embezzlement,” the report said.The SIT has also held Subhash Srivastava, who headed the daily counting operations, responsible for serious operational failures. Appointed to the post on Mishra’s recommendation, Srivastava was responsible for deployment of counting staff, attendance, discipline, frisking and supervision of the counting room.Investigators found that the most critical lapse under his watch was the complete absence of frisking of counting personnel despite it being a mandatory safeguard. The report says his role extended beyond administrative negligence and amounted to gross dereliction of duty, as his failure to enforce basic security measures created an environment that facilitated the alleged embezzlement.The SIT also found that accused Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu was handling the keys and access arrangements for the temple’s donation boxes (hundis) without any formal written authorisation. As the officer supervising the opening of the hundis, Srivastava has been held responsible for allowing the informal arrangement to continue, exposing the system to unauthorised access.Further, the investigation noted that Manish Kumar Yadav, a counting employee found allegedly involved in the embezzlement, was appointed on the recommendation of his uncle, Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu. Manish joined the counting room on April 15, 2026, and investigators believe he became involved in the alleged theft less than a month later.The SIT has concluded that supervisory failures at the highest levels of the donation counting mechanism, coupled with weak implementation of security protocols, played a crucial role in enabling the alleged embezzlement of temple donations.