Inside Ayodhya Ram Mandir Donation Probe: Rs 24 Lakh Money Mystery Turns Murkier

Ayodhya: In the latest development in the alleged embezzlement of donation funds of Ram Temple, around 10 people, including the temple adminittrator Gopal Rao, have been questioned in connection with the case, claimed sources. Police have even conducted raids at the ancestral homes of the three arrested accused and recovered a trunk along with important documents.The sources further revealed that the raids were carried out at the native villages of the arrested accused—Lavkush, Anukalp, and Karunesh—in Milkipur, Khandasa, and Rudauli. The police also took Lavkush's father, Bacchulal Mishra, into custody.During the investigation, it was revealed that annual transactions worth Rs 24 lakh were being routed through the bank account of Lavkush's wife,

Supriya. Investigators are now trying to determine the source of this transaction.

ED To Probe The Case?

Meanwhile, Ayodhya police is mulling handing over the investigation to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), sources told Times Now. The probe might write to the federal probe agency if the amount of recovery money in the matter mounts up.Currently, the alleged theft of donation funds of the Ram Temple is being probed by a special investigation team (SIT) set up by the Uttar Pradesh government. An FIR has been filed in the case leading to the arrest of eight individuals. Last week, the SIT submitted its preliminary report on its findings.The probe into the alleged embezzlement of donation funds at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya took a fresh turn after investigators claimed that one of the arrested suspects revealed that the stolen money was temporarily concealed in washrooms before being smuggled out of the temple complex to evade detection.According to Times Now, citing police sources, accused Avinash Shukla was questioned for nearly two hours by the SIT. During the interrogation, Shukla allegedly admitted to stealing crores of rupees and detailed how the theft was carried out.Times Now sources said Shukla told investigators that one person would remove cash during the donation counting process while others allegedly surrounded him to block CCTV cameras from capturing the act. Shukla reportedly claimed that former trustee Anil Mishra played a key role in the donation counting process and that the accused faced little scrutiny owing to their proximity to trust officials. Mishra and Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust General Secretary Champat Rai resigned from their posts last week and have already been questioned by the SIT.Investigators are separately probing access to the donation counting room. Sources said arrested accused Ramashankar alias Tinnu Yadav allegedly held one of the two keys to the counting room, while the second was with bank personnel. The cash counting process is authorised by the State Bank of India (SBI), which engaged a private agency for the job.