The three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government to probe the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya has completed its inquiry, but is expected to formally conclude the investigation only after the Supreme Court is apprised of the probe’s status on July 20, sources familiar with the matter said.On July 13, the Supreme Court directed the SIT to submit a status report on the investigation into the alleged embezzlement of donations received at the Ram temple in Ayodhya. (FILE PHOTO)According to these sources, the SIT has finalised its findings and completed drafting its report. However, instead of submitting it immediately to the state government, the panel is likely to wait until Monday, when a status update is scheduled to be placed before the Supreme Court, the sources said, adding that the SIT report is expected to be submitted to the state government soon thereafter.The SIT’s extended tenure ended on July 15. While the panel has completed its investigation, officials said the report is being withheld for a few more days in view of the scheduled proceedings before the apex court.The SIT, comprising Lucknow divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, inspector general of police (Lucknow range)Kiran S and special secretary (finance) Neel Ratan, was constituted on June 13 to investigate allegations that cash donations offered by devotees at the Ram temple were systematically siphoned off during the counting process.The committee submitted its preliminary report to the state government on June 23, which led to the registration of an FIR by the Ayodhya police on June 25 against eight accused — Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu, Subhash Chandra Srivastava, Manish Yadav, Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Lokesh Pandey and Ramashankar Mishra. All eight were subsequently arrested and remanded in judicial custody.Recognising the sensitivity and complexity of the case, the state government had extended the SIT’s deadline until July 15, during which the panel widened the scope of its inquiry beyond the alleged theft to examine systemic shortcomings in the temple’s donation management system.Sources said the final report comprehensively examines supervisory failures, adherence to standard operating procedures, CCTV surveillance, security arrangements, the cash-counting mechanism, accountability of officials responsible for oversight, and the role of outsourced personnel engaged in handling donations. It also assesses whether institutional deficiencies enabled the alleged embezzlement to continue undetected over a prolonged period.Parallel to the SIT’s administrative inquiry, the Ayodhya police have continued the criminal investigation by securing police custody remands of several accused, tracing the alleged money trail, recovering cash, gold, vehicles and investment-related documents, and freezing multiple bank accounts allegedly linked to the proceeds of the crime.According to sources, the SIT final report is likely to recommend departmental action against officials found negligent, identify procedural and security deficiencies, and suggest structural reforms to strengthen the management, security and auditing of donations at the Ram temple.The state government will take a final decision on administrative action, policy changes and any further legal proceedings after examining the SIT’s recommendations.On July 13, the Supreme Court directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to submit a status report on the investigation into the alleged embezzlement of donations received at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, while indicating that it may consider issuing further directions after examining the progress of the probe.Hearing a batch of petitions seeking an independent investigation into the alleged financial irregularities in the affairs of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant asked the state government to also disclose the names of the officials comprising the SIT.“We would like to know who the members of the SIT are. File a status report. After seeing the report, we may issue some additional directions,” the bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, observed.The court also issued notice to the Trust, observing that its response was necessary before the matter could be considered further.