Photo: IANS
Ayodhya Police have intensified their investigation into allegations of embezzlement of donations received by the Ram Temple, conducting simultaneous searches at the residences of all eight accused persons on Sunday.
According to sources, police teams accompanied by local magistrates searched the homes of several accused, including Lav Kush Mishra, Avinash Shukla, and Ramashankar Yadav. The raids were carried out two days after an Ayodhya court sent all eight accused to judicial custody until June 29.
Investigators are expected to request custodial interrogation when the accused are presented before the court on Monday, The New Indian Express reported.
The eight individuals arrested in the case, Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lav Kush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ram Shankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava, and Ramashankar alias Tinnu Yadav, were involved in counting cash and valuables donated by devotees at the Ram Temple, according to the prosecution.
Police have so far recovered around ₹79.85 lakh during the investigation, prosecutors said. The FIR includes charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to theft by a person entrusted with property, criminal breach of trust, handling stolen property, and criminal conspiracy, along with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The case was registered following recommendations from a preliminary report submitted by a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Uttar Pradesh government after allegations of financial irregularities in temple donations emerged.
Meanwhile, opposition parties have stepped up criticism of the BJP governments at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh, calling for a Supreme Court-monitored investigation and demanding the dissolution of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
The Congress questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on the matter and alleged that BJP leaders had failed to uphold the principles associated with Lord Ram by not initiating an independent investigation. Congress general secretary KC Venugopal accused the BJP and RSS of using Ayodhya for political purposes and alleged that donations made by ordinary devotees had been misused.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav described the alleged misuse of temple offerings as serious and unacceptable. He said that his party, if it returned to power, would work to transform Ayodhya into a major global spiritual destination. He also questioned how Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who frequently visits Ayodhya, could have remained unaware of the alleged wrongdoing and raised questions about the role of state intelligence agencies.