PUNE: Govind Dev Giri Maharaj, treasurer of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, on Tuesday conceded that there were lapses in supervision at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, but said he would not step down over the alleged theft of donations as he did not consider himself to be at fault personally.
Noting that those arrested in the case are all employees of the State Bank of India, he told reporters here that the bank officials should have checked their credentials and should have been more vigilant.
Asked about the quantum of the alleged theft, he said his personal estimate was that it could be around Rs 3 crore, but it should not be taken as the official or authentic figure.
He was satisfied with the ongoing Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe as well as the Supreme Court's monitoring of the matter, he said.
Reports claiming that he had decided to quit were "malicious", Giri Maharaj said.
"I never said I will resign. I am a follower of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and I am not one of those who run away. When the time demands that I should fight, it is not in our dharma to quit the field," he said.
On the resignation of the trust's general secretary Champat Rai, Giri Maharaj said he had stepped down voluntarily.
"As per the constitution of the trust, once a resignation is tendered, it is deemed to have been accepted," he added.
Rejecting the suggestion that Rai was made a scapegoat, Giri Maharaj said negligence on Rai's part contributed to the situation, and he had realised it before resigning.
"As a treasurer, I also have responsibilities. My duty is to oversee the funds deposited in the trust's bank accounts. Five chartered accountants verify the accounts regularly," he said.
Donations deposited in the temple's donation boxes was allegedly embezzled and not the funds deposited in the trust's bank accounts, Giri Maharaj pointed out.
The local trustees looked after the counting and accountability of donations collected in the donation boxes, he said.
The State Bank of India (SBI) has been entrusted with handling and accounting for donations received through donation boxes, Giri Maharaj further said.
"All those arrested so far are SBI employees. They were deployed by SBI, not by the trust. Even if some appointments were made on recommendations, it was SBI's responsibility to verify their credentials. SBI is one of the country's leading banks," he said.
The trust expected the bank to ensure financial discipline and deploy dedicated personnel to supervise the daily accounting of donations, he said, adding, "Trustees may not possess financial expertise, but bank officials do."
Asked whether bank employees should have been more vigilant, Giri Maharaj said, "They are not preachers, they are bank officials. So they should have remained vigilant."
The trust's priority now was to strengthen systems and plug loopholes so that such incidents do not recur, Giri Maharaj said, adding that it would not interfere in the SIT probe and the culprits must face the strictest punishment.
The alleged theft was "a crime against Lord Ram", he said, adding, "We are ashamed that such an incident took place. It is a matter of great pain for us."
On demands that he step down as treasurer, Giri Maharaj said there was "absolutely no need" for him to resign as an act of penance.
"My penance is not resignation. It is to ensure that the mistakes committed are never repeated. We have already begun putting corrective systems in place," he said.
The trust had introduced several measures, such as requiring the personnel handling cash to wear dresses without pockets, eliminating CCTV blind spots, shifting cash counting from tables to floor mats to prevent concealment of currency bundles, mandatory presence of two trust representatives and two SBI officials during cash counting, and frisking of all personnel entering and leaving the counting area, Giri Maharaj said.
Asked whether he accepted moral responsibility as a treasurer, Govind Dev Giri said he did not consider himself personally at fault, but acknowledged the burden of responsibility.
"I do not believe I am at fault. But since my name is associated with the post of treasurer, I deeply regret that this happened," he said.
About the allegations of donated offerings including gold going missing, he said several reports exaggerated the issue, and the reports claiming that offerings valued at Rs 1,400 crore were missing was "completely false."
"It is all exaggerated. Who donates that much gold?" he said.
The trust had displayed a register recording 2,926 valuable donated items before the media and invited donors to verify whether their offerings were safe, he said.
The trust would not publish any "white paper" on the issue at present as the SIT was already probing the matter, he said.
