Ayodhya Ram Temple donation controversy: Eight arrested, General Secretary Champat Rai and trust member Anil Mishra resign

All eight people named in the first information report FIR in connection with the alleged embezzlement of donations and offerings at the Ram temple in Ayodhya have been arrested even as Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust General Secretary Champat Rai and trust member Anil Mishra stepped down from their positionsThe arrests followed the registration of an FIR based on a complaint filed by Shri Krishna Mohan a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust alleging irregularities in the handling of donations and offerings at the temple news agency IANS reportedWho are the eight accusedThe eight accused mdash Avinash Shukla Anukalp Mishra Lavkush Mishra Manish Kumar Yadav Karunesh Pandey Ramashankar Mishra Subhash Srivastava and Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnumdashwere associated with the counting of cash and valuables received as donations According to the FIR they were allegedly caught on camera misappropriating valuablesRamshankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav Ramshankar Yadav also known as Tinnu Yadav is the key accused in the alleged theft of donations at the Ram Temple His alleged links with Rai brought him into the spotlight and intensified the controversy He is said to have worked as Rais former driver Allegations have been made that he diverted temple funds worth around Rs 50 crore to build a lavish house although the claims are under investigation Sources alleged that his proximity to members of the trust gave him considerable freedom in handling cash and lsquochadhava offeringsrsquo He is also alleged to have retained the keys to the donation boxes and exercised unchecked control over the process enabling the alleged siphoning of funds While he has repeatedly denied participating in cash counting his association with Rai has also brought the latter under scrutinyRamashankar Mishra Ramashankar Mishra was engaged in counting donations at the temple Investigators have alleged that he conspired to siphon off temple funds and involved his son and soninlaw in the cashcounting processLavkush Mishra Lavkush Mishra the soninlaw of Ramashankar Mishra allegedly had cash recovered from his residence during the investigation According to investigators he played a key role in the alleged embezzlement of temple offerings and in concealing the allegedly misappropriated cash and valuablesAnukalp Mishra Anukalp Mishra the son of Ramashankar Mishra allegedly conspired with his father and brotherinlaw Lavkush Mishra to misappropriate temple offerings He is also said to have links with trust member Anil MishraAvinash Shukla An attendant at the Ram Temple Avinash Shukla allegedly had links with the other accused According to an NDTV report Rs 5 lakh was recovered from his bank account Investigators suspect he played a role in the alleged diversion of temple fundsManish Kumar Yadav Manish Kumar Yadav the nephew of Ramshankar Yadav came under the police scanner after investigators allegedly recovered cash from his residence He was also associated with the donationcounting processSubhash Srivastava A former bank employee Subhash Srivastava supervised the cashcounting staff at the temple Investigators have alleged that he played a key role in the misappropriation of donationsKarunesh Pandey Karunesh Pandey has been accused of manipulating donation receipts to allegedly conceal the irregularitiesNotably the State Bank of India had been authorised to count the cash offerings and valuables received at the templeChampat Rai Anil Mishra step downMeanwhile Rai and Anil Mishra stepped down from their respective positions according to sources familiar with the matter Uttar Pradesh government sources said both trust members resigned on moral groundsAccording to reports offerings and valuables worth hundreds of crores were allegedly misappropriated by temple staff in collusion with former bank officials As the temple trust is responsible for overseeing the daytoday management of the shrine including the handling of chadhava offerings the alleged irregularities have intensified scrutiny of its functioningThe resignations came amid mounting calls for accountability following the preliminary findings of the special investigation team SIT which reportedly flagged lapses in the handling of donations at the templeWith IANS inputs