The Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday arrested all eight accused in the alleged Ram Temple donation embezzlement case, hours after registering the first
FIR in connection with the alleged misappropriation of donations offered by devotees at the temple in Ayodhya. According to sources, all eight accused have been taken into custody and are most likely to be produced before a remand magistrate later on Friday. Police have begun questioning the accused to ascertain how the alleged embezzlement was carried out, the role of each individual, and since when the alleged misappropriation of devotees' donations had been taking place. Investigators are also trying to determine whether more people were involved in the alleged fraud and if the embezzlement was part of a larger organised racket. Further investigation is underway.
Profiles of 8 accused named in the FIR
The case was filed under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Sections 306, 316(5), 317(4), 317(5), 61, and 3(5), on the directions of the Uttar Pradesh government. The FIR names Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Avinash Shukla, Tinnu Yadav, Manish Yadav, and others.
Ramshankar Yadav 'Tinnu': Formerly the driver for Trust General Secretary Champat Rai. He was directly involved in almost all temple operations. He was even found to be in possession of the keys to the donation boxes.
Anukalp Mishra: An employee involved in counting cash. He has been identified as the mastermind behind the embezzlement case and was the first to be apprehended. A sum of ₹20 lakh was recovered from his residence in Kaushalpuri.
Lavkush Mishra: Anukalp Mishra's brother-in-law. He was hired through the recommendation of his father-in-law, Ravindra Mishra (who is also Anukalp's father). Approximately ₹10 lakh in cash was found at his home.
Manish Yadav: Tinnu Yadav's nephew. He had been hired by Tinnu only about four or five months prior. Some cash was also recovered from his premises.
Subhash Srivastava: After retiring from Canara Bank, he was not only hired as a Trust employee but was also assigned to supervise the cash-counting process.
Avinash Shukla: Involved in the counting process; a resident of Ayodhya city. A sum of ₹5 lakh was recovered from his account.
Karunesh Pandey: Involved in the counting process; described as a close associate of Anukalp.
Ramashankar Mishra: Involved in the counting of cash. Some cash was also recovered from his possession.
This action follows allegations by former SP MLA from Ayodhya, Pawan Pandey, who claimed that between ₹7 crore and ₹7.5 crore in donations were misappropriated from the Ram Mandir. In response to these claims, the state government constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) on June 14 to probe the alleged scam, acting on a request from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
Meanwhile, a fresh petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored investigation.
(With agency inputs)
