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Land parcel worth ₹23 lakh, security agency in focus, ₹80 lakh recovered: Inside Ram temple donation probe so far
HT also learnt that six of the eight suspects were hired by a Varanasi-based security agency that provided manpower for the cash-counting process at Ram temple.
The investigation into the alleged embezzlement of donations at Ayodhya's Ram Temple in Uttar Pradesh has moved from arrests to legal proceedings and asset and fund recovery.
Police arrested eight people in connection with the case last week after the UP police registered an FIR based on the complaint from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which manages the temple. These eight men are: Anukalp Mishra, Avinash Shukla, Karunesh Pandey, Manish Yadav, Lavkush Mishra, Ramashankar Mishra, and Subhash Srivastava.
As police dig deeper into the roles of the eight suspects and the loopholes that led to the alleged embezzlement, they have already recovered ₹79.85 lakh in cash from seven of the eight suspects.
Authorities are also zeroing in on the assets of the eight jailed suspects as part of the investigation.
ALSO READ | Ram temple donations: How it ballooned into a raging row
The controversy first came to light on June 7 when Samajwadi Party leader Tej Narayan 'Pawan' Pandey alleged donations worth ₹5 crore to ₹7.5 crore were siphoned off from temple offerings.
Amid the probe, police have unearthed a major real estate purchase by one of the key suspects, Lavkush Mishra. The suspect allegedly acquired a land parcel worth over ₹23 lakh in the Sahadatganj area of the temple town recently, HT reported earlier.
Police have also found that six of the eight arrested suspects were employed by a security agency in Varanasi.
Let's take a look at what police have found so far:
Ram Temple donations row | Probe so far
1. FIR registered: Police lodged a case against the eight named accused and other unidentified persons under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 306, 316(5), 317(4), 317(5), 61 and 3(5), relating to offences such as criminal breach of trust, cheating, theft and criminal conspiracy, along with Section 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
2. 8 men held, nearly ₹80L recovered: Police arrested eight suspects on Friday last week in connection with the alleged irregularities in the donations for the Ram Temple. Ayodhya prosecution officer KC Verma had said that police recovered a total of ₹79,85,893 in cash from seven of the eight arrested suspects.
3. Largest sum recovered from one suspect: Avinash Shukla, one of the eight arrested suspects, was reportedly questioned at the district jail. During interrogation, Shukla was asked about the alleged diversion of devotees' donations, cash movement and the role of other accused, HT reported earlier. The report, citing sources, said that the Ram temple trust had recovered ₹20 lakh from Shukla on June 5, weeks before the FIR was registered. Though there is no official breakdown of the money recovered from the accused, sources reportedly said the largest sum was recovered from Avinash Shukla. Police are analysing whether the recovered amount represented the entire sum siphoned off by him or whether some amount remains unaccounted for.
4. Eyes on land worth ₹23 lakh: As the investigation runs deeper into the alleged embezzlement of the donations at the Ram temple, police now have their eyes on a land parcel worth ₹23 lakh, which was reportedly acquired recently by Lavkush Mishra, one of the eight jailed suspects, in the Sahadatganj area of the temple town. Investigators found this information during a raid on the suspect's relatives. They found the property details while scanning Mishra's father-in-law's mobile phone.
5. Funds used for consumer goods: Investigators said they also found that a significant portion of the embezzled sum was also funneled into consumer goods, with suspects purchasing essential and non-essential items, including smartphones, washing machines, and various other household appliances.
6. Six suspects from same firm: HT learnt that six of the eight arrested suspects were employed by a Varanasi-based security agency that provided manpower for the cash-counting process at Ayodhya temple. The agency, Sainik Security Services, was incorporated in its present form with an address registered in Varanasi and a paid-up capital of ₹1 lakh in December 2017, according to the ministry of corporate affairs database. This security firm was hired by the State Bank of India (SBI), Naya Ghat Branch, for cash counting. Gaurav Singh, the owner and director of Sainik Security Services, said the branch recommended 19 names for the cash-counting team. HT reported earlier, citing people familiar with the matter, that the documents submitted before the court of Rajat Varma, additional district judge, anti-corruption, revealed that six of the eight accused were being paid by the Varanasi-based security agency.
7. 70:30 probing lines: Authorities investigating the case said they are collecting financial details of all the suspects, their family members, and relatives using Aadhaar and PAN cards. Officials are analysing and comparing the financial status of the suspects before they secured their positions at the Ram Temple. “The total yearly income of all the accused will be ascertained from the time they got the job in the Ram temple. Thereafter, it will be multiplied by the number of years they worked there,” an investigating officer explained. He further said that of the total income, "approximately 70 per cent will be considered as standard living expenses and 30 per cent as investments. The probe will proceed strictly on these lines."
