Ayodhya/New Delhi:
According to the Special Investigation Team (SIT), some of the accused were involved in petty thefts earlier, but allegedly used the surge in donations during the Kumbh period to siphon off larger amounts through collusion.
Eight accused have been arrested so far: Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lav Kush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav. They were questioned for several hours by the SIT on Tuesday.
Police said the probe has found that the brother-in-law duo of Lav Kush Mishra and Anukalp Mishra allegedly stole the largest share of the money and used it to buy properties. More than half a dozen properties linked to them have been traced, and Ayodhya Police is seeking assistance from the Income Tax Department to examine their financial transactions and assets.
The role of some State Bank of India employees has also come under scrutiny. Police are expected to write to the Enforcement Directorate to probe the money trail in greater detail.
Cash offerings at the temple are counted under an SBI-authorised system, with a private agency engaged for the work. Donations are received in four boxes and counted by a 14-member team, including 11 bank staff and three members from the temple trust.
Police said the largest cash recovery, amounting to Rs 89 lakh, was made on the basis of information provided by accused Avinash Shukla. The money was recovered by the trust before the FIR was registered.
A large amount of cash was also allegedly recovered from a yoga centre in Kaushalpuri linked to Shukla’s brother, Abhishek. The cash was found hidden in blankets inside four boxes, one of which had “Ram Rajya Kosh” written on it.
Police have also recovered cash and banking records from the homes of other accused. Tinnu Yadav, who was earlier the driver of former trust general secretary Champat Rai, is under scrutiny after investigators reportedly found that he had one key to the counting room, while the second key was with bank staff.
Investigators said the bank accounts of the accused showed transactions far beyond their known sources of income. Records of their movable and immovable assets have also been collected.
The FIR in the case was registered on June 25. The SIT has been granted a 15-day extension to widen the scope of the investigation. Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra resigned last week, taking moral responsibility for the alleged embezzlement. Rai’s statement has been recorded by police, while statements of other senior trust office-bearers may be recorded if required.
The case has triggered a political storm in Uttar Pradesh, with Opposition parties targeting the BJP over the handling of temple donations.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav accused the BJP of betraying both Lord Ram and the Constitution. “The Bharatiya Janata Party is betraying Lord Ram. The first name of righteousness is Lord Shri Ram, and the second is the Constitution; BJP has betrayed both,” he said.
AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal also attacked the BJP governments at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh, saying those responsible for the alleged theft could not be punished under the present dispensation.
“If you want the donation thieves to be punished, then the government must be changed,” Kejriwal said. He alleged that the BJP had used Sanatan Dharma for power and money, and claimed the AAP was the only party with “true faith” in Sanatan.
Earlier this week, a local court in Ayodhya remanded all the accused to 14 days of judicial custody.