All the eight accused in the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram Temple in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya has been sent to 14 days of judicial custody by a local court, said officials on Monday. They will now remain in the judicial custody till July 13.
The order was passed by Special Judge (Anti Corruption Court) Rajat Verma after the police told the court that the accused should remain in judicial custody till the investigation completes in the case.
The Ram Temple donation theft case has caused a political row in Uttar Pradesh, where assembly elections are due early next year. The Samajwadi Party, which is the prime opposition in the state, has corned the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the alleged theft, demanding the harshest punishment for the guilty.
The Congress, an ally of Samajwadi Party, has also attacked the saffron party, saying the Yogi government was forced to register a first information report (FIR) due to its pressure and protest.
However, the government has ensured strict punishment for the guilty, while lambasting the opposition for politicising the matter. The government has also said the Samajwadi Party and the Congress had opposed the Ram Temple construction in Ayodhya, adding that they are raising the issue only for political gains.
"These are the people who do not believe in Lord Ram. Some among them do not even accept his existence. They have never gone for Lord Ram's darshan. Have those criticising ever visited the Ram Temple? Have they made any contribution to its construction?" Uttar Pradesh Minister Dayashankar Singh told news agency PTI on Monday.
This case is currently being investigated by a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which also raided the residences of 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 -- on Sunday.
It is worth mentioning that all these eight accused were involved in counting cash and valuables that the Ram Temple received in donation.
A plea was also filed in the Supreme Court seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), but the apex court declined an urgent hearing, with a two-judge bench comprising Justices MM Sundresh and Sheel Nagu also asked the petitioner to furnish a copy of the plea to the registry.
The case now continues to be probe by the SIT and investigators have recovered around Rs 79.85 lakh. Probe is still underway and further details are likely to be provided by authorities later.
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