Ram Temple donation theft row: Homes of 8 accused raided ahead of custody hearing

NEW DELHI: Ayodhya Police on Sunday carried out simultaneous raids at the residences of all eight people arrested in connection with the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram Temple, as the investigation into the high-profile case intensified. Police teams, accompanied by local magistrates, searched the homes of the accused, including Lav Kush Mishra, Avinash Shukla and Ramashankar Yadav, according to police sources cited by news agency PTI. The searches come two days after an Ayodhya court remanded all eight accused to judicial custody till June 29. Police are expected to seek their custodial remand when they are produced before the court on Monday. Rs 79.85 lakh recovered so far The eight accused, Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lav Kush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ram Shankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ramashankar alias Tinnu Yadav, were associated with counting cash and valuables received as donations at the Ram Temple. According to the prosecution, investigators have recovered Rs 79.85 lakh so far. The case has been registered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to theft by servant, criminal breach of trust, receiving stolen property and criminal conspiracy, along with sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The FIR was registered following the recommendation of a preliminary report submitted by a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), which was constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government after allegations of misappropriation of temple donations surfaced earlier this month. Trust received resignations of Champat Rai, Anil Mishra The raids come amid a wider controversy surrounding the alleged embezzlement at the Ram Temple. The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on Saturday said it had received the resignations of its general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra. The trust said it would consider the resignations at its next meeting and reiterated its commitment to ensuring a fair investigation and restoring devotees' confidence. In its statement, the trust also assured devotees that silver bricks, jewellery and other offerings personally handed over to temple officials were "safe and fully accounted for." The trust said the FIR in the case was lodged on the basis of the interim report submitted by the SIT constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government at the trust's request, and that legal proceedings are under way.