The Uttar Pradesh Police has arrested the eight accused named in the Ram Temple donation theft case as the probe continues to intensify, sources told India TV on Friday. They have been sent to police custody and are being interrogated by the officials as part of the investigation.
The eight accused include Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav, who is considered a close aide of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Trust general secretary Champat Rai. The other accused are Anukalp Mishra, Avinash Shukla, Karunesh Pandey, Lav Kush Mishra, Rama Shankar Mishra and Subhash Srivastava.
All the eight accused were involved in counting process of the donations.
The development comes a day after a first information report (FIR) was registered against them under sections 306, 316(5), 317(4), 317(5), 61 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The case was registered based on the evidence of the CCTV footage.
Sources have indicated that more arrests are likely to be made in the upcoming days. However, no FIR has been registered against Rai or trust's member Anil Mishra as of now.
The matter, which has erupted a political row in Uttar Pradesh ahead of next year's assembly elections, is currently being investigated by a Special Investigation Team (SIT), with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's government warning that no guilty will be spared and appropriate action will be taken against them.
However, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has constantly attacked the government over the alleged theft and claimed that evidence are being cleaned up. State's Congress unit chief Ajay Rai has also slammed the government, alleging that the FIR was registered only as a formality.
Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is aiming to increase its footprints in Uttar Pradesh, has also lambasted the state government, saying the alleged theft has hurt the sentiments of the people and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is helpless.
However, the government has promised strict action. "This is Yogi ji's government, and this government has been raising the slogan of zero tolerance towards crime since the beginning... and action has been taken accordingly. No culprit will be spared. Whoever has done something wrong will definitely be punished," Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Khanna told reporters on Friday.
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