Eight accused have been arrested in connection with the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya after a Special Investigation Team (SIT) submitted a preliminary report recommending stringent action.
The development comes a day after an FIR was registered on the complaint of Krishna Mohan, a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, after the SIT's preliminary findings pointed to alleged irregularities in the handling of devotees' offerings.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday reiterated that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had ordered an impartial investigation and that no guilty person would be spared.
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SIT Probe Leads To Arrests
The three-member SIT, headed by Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant and comprising Inspector General of Police Kiran S and Finance Department Special Secretary Neel Ratan, was constituted on June 13 at the request of the temple trust after allegations surfaced over the misappropriation of donations.
According to the government, the panel submitted its preliminary report on Tuesday with strong recommendations, paving the way for legal action.
The case has been registered under Sections 306 (theft by clerk or servant of property in possession of master), 316 (criminal breach of trust), 317 (dishonestly receiving stolen property) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with other relevant provisions.
Who Are The Accused And What's Their Role?
Those arrested are Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu.
Officials said most of the accused were directly associated with the donation counting and cash-handling process at the temple.
- Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu, an associate of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra General Secretary Champat Rai, allegedly had custody of the keys to the temple's donation boxes.
- Anukalp Mishra and Avinash Shukla were involved in counting donations.
- Subhash Srivastava and Ramashankar Mishra were associated with counting cash offerings.
- Karunesh Pandey was also linked to the donation counting process.
- Lavkush Mishra, the brother-in-law of Anukalp Mishra, and Manish Kumar Yadav, Tinnu's nephew, have also been named in the case.
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Government Vows Strict Action
The Uttar Pradesh government said the temple trust had sought a special investigation after alleged thefts from devotees' offerings came to light.
"Following the discovery of thefts from offerings made at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, the trust requested a special investigation. On the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to investigate the matter," the government said.
It added that the chief minister had assured that the SIT's impartial investigation would establish the truth and that no guilty person would be spared.
A senior official earlier told PTI that the SIT had made "strong" and "strict" recommendations and that the chief minister was personally monitoring the case.