A court in Ayodhya on Friday sent eight accused to judicial custody till June 29 in the alleged Ram Temple donation embezzlement case. The accused were produced before the local court after being arrested. KC Verma, Prosecution Officer at the Ayodhya Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court, told reporters that all eight accused had been remanded to judicial custody till Monday and would be produced before the court again on June 29. All 8 accused Tinnu Yadav, Subhash Srivastava, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Avinash Shukla, Karunesh Pandey, Manish Yadav and Ramshankar Mishra have been sent to jail.
Rs 79,85,493 recovered from the accused
"In total, Rs 79,85,493 was recovered from them, except for one accused, Subhash. Nothing was recovered from him, though he was involved in the conspiracy. Different amounts were recovered from the others," he said.
"The special court dealing with the Prevention of Corruption Act was not sitting today; it wasn't a working day. Since today was a holiday, the remand was granted until Monday. The individuals involved include public servants, people who draw salaries from the government, and there are also many SBI employees among them. There are about five or six from SBI," he added.
Sections under which these cases were registered?
| Sections | Charges | Punishment |
| BNS 305 | Theft in a place of worship | Up to 7 years in prison |
| BNS 306 | Theft by employee/serviceman | Up to 7 years imprisonment |
| BNS 316(5) | Criminal breach of trust | Life imprisonment or 10 years in prison |
| BNS 317 | Repeated theft | Life imprisonment or 10 years in prison |
| BNS 61 | Criminal conspiracy | imprisonment up to 7 years |
| BNS 3(5) | Committing a crime collectively | Equal punishment for all |
Five to six of the arrested persons were bank employees
The prosecution officer said five to six of the arrested persons were bank employees who were deployed for counting cash donations received at the temple and were drawing salaries from the bank. He, however, declined to identify the individual bank employees at this stage of the investigation. He said Tinnu Yadav was not a bank employee but worked as a driver, while Subhash Srivastava was in charge of the donation counting process.
The case relates to the alleged embezzlement of cash and valuables offered by devotees at the Ram temple. Earlier, an FIR was registered after a preliminary report by a Special Investigation Team (SIT), and the investigation is being carried out by both the SIT and Ayodhya police.
Big revelation in SIT investigation
While the Ayodhya Police are taking action in the donation theft case, the SIT's investigation into the theft has revealed significant revelations. The SIT examined CCTV footage from April 27 to June 5, revealing 70 instances of donation theft. This means that the 39 days of CCTV footage examined by the SIT show 70 instances of donation theft. Imagine this was captured on CCTV, but how much money must have been stolen from areas without CCTV.
The SIT admitted in its investigation that CCTV coverage at the Ram Temple was inadequate. The SIT also found discrepancies in the cash counting documents. It found flaws in the counting and management of donations, and discrepancies in the donation audit reports. This means that many more people will be caught in this case.
Champat Rai, Anil Mishra tender resignation
Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Trust General Secretary Champat Rai and member trustee Anil Mishra have resigned, taking moral responsibility in connection with the alleged Ram Temple donation theft case, sources said on Friday.The developments came after a First Information Report was registered in the alleged embezzlement of donations received at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.The case has been filed under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Sections 306, 316(5), 317(4), 317(5), 61 and 3(5), on the directions of the Uttar Pradesh Government.
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How cash and jewellery were allegedly stolen at Ram Temple, SIT reveals entire modus operandi
