Ayodhya Ram Temple Donation Theft: Police Probe Land Deals of 20 Associates Linked to Accused

Ayodhya Police have requested the district revenue department to verify if 20 associates and relatives of eight arrested men bought any land, Indian Express reported. Investigators identified these 20 individuals as close contacts who managed assets or financial transactions for the accused. The probe focuses on the alleged theft and siphoning of cash and valuables offered at the Ram Temple.

Tracking the Money Trail

The eight arrested men are Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav, Ramshankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava, Avinash Shukla, Lavkush Mishra, Anukalp Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav and Karunesh Pandey. Six of these suspects allegedly participated directly in tallying the temple offerings. The remaining two, Yadav and Srivastava, did not handle the counting process.

The police previously sought revenue records to determine the money trail and questioned local property dealers to establish whether the arrested accused were involved in any recent real estate transactions.

"We are trying to establish where the accused invested the stolen money...So far, we have recovered cash, jewellery and vehicles that appear to have been purchased using the stolen money. We are examining whether the accused also used the money to buy any immovable property," a police officer involved in the probe said. The officer added, "We are awaiting the revenue department’s report."

Sources said property documents seized during searches at the homes of the accused did not, by themselves, establish that the properties had been purchased using the "stolen" money.

Seeking Suspect Custody

Investigators applied to a local court for a seven-day remand of Srivastava and Yadav. While security cameras in the counting area caught the other six suspects hiding cash, police need more proof to define the roles of Yadav and Srivastava.

Srivastava supervised the donation counting room under an appointment by the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. Yadav worked as a driver for Champat Rai, the former general secretary of the Trust who stepped down after the donation "theft" came to light.