In the Ram Temple donation theft case, SIT has so far found important clues related to property, digital evidence and alleged misappropriation of crores. Eight accused have been arrested.
Ram Mandir Donation Theft: The investigation in the case of alleged misappropriation of donation amount in Ayodhya’s Ram temple is progressing continuously. According to sources, there has been an unusual increase in the assets of many suspects who have come under the scanner of investigating agencies in recent times. It is being told that the net worth of some people increased by almost 100 times in a very short time. During the investigation, many important clues related to illegal financial transactions have also come to light. According to sources, many of the suspects purchased properties worth much more than their declared income. These include expensive properties like land, residential plots and hotels, which are considered difficult to purchase on the basis of their legal earnings.
How did the case of donation theft come to light?
Sources claim that the case of alleged theft of temple donations came to light when there was a dispute between the suspects over the distribution of money. After this, the investigation of the entire case intensified and the Special Investigation Team (SIT) took about 30 people including Tinnu Yadav under investigation.
Attempt to erase digital evidence
The investigation also revealed that as soon as the suspects got information about the theft investigation, they started trying to destroy digital evidence. According to sources, many accused deleted WhatsApp chats and other important data from their mobile phones. Some people even completely formatted their mobile phones so that electronic evidence could be destroyed.
CCTV and electronic evidence become the basis of investigation
The police have made CCTV footage, mobile phones and other electronic evidence the most important basis in the investigation of this case. With the help of these digital evidence, the investigating agencies are trying to connect the entire incident and the alleged money transactions.
The security arrangements of the temple are also under investigation.
After this case, many questions have been raised on the security arrangements of Ram Temple. According to sources, the role of the control room in-charge and security personnel is also being investigated. It is believed that after the detailed investigation of the SIT is completed, departmental action can also be taken against the concerned officers.
Officials associated with the trust are also under investigation
The investigating agencies are not limited to just the accused, but are also investigating the role of some officials associated with the Ram Mandir Trust. According to sources, no clean chit has been given to the key officials of the trust till now. His role is also being investigated in detail.
8 accused arrested in Ram temple theft case
So far 8 people have been arrested in this case. These include Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Luvkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ram Shankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ramashankar alias Tinnu Yadav. The investigating agencies are raiding the houses of the accused and also examining the documents related to their money transactions.
The accused used to count the donation amount and jewelery
According to the police, all the arrested accused were part of the team counting the cash and jewelery deposited in the donation box by the devotees at the temple. Now the investigating agencies are trying to find out how long the alleged rigging was going on and which people had a role in it.
Family members are also being interrogated
The investigating officers are also interrogating the family members of the accused. Also, a list of all the movable and immovable properties purchased by the accused since the inauguration of the temple is being prepared, so that their income and assets can be matched.
Aunt told- lifestyle changed after joining the trust
Neha Mishra, aunt of accused Anukalp Mishra, told the police that after starting work with Ram Mandir Trust, there was a lot of change in the lifestyle of Anukalp and his family. According to sources, in this case there has been alleged embezzlement of donation amount of about Rs 7.75 crore. Police have so far claimed to have recovered Rs 80 lakh. Police say that the activities of the eight temple employees have been recorded in CCTV cameras. With the help of these footage, the investigating agencies are trying to confirm the entire incident related to the alleged rigging.
Champat Rai resigned on moral grounds
Earlier this week, Champat Rai, general secretary of ‘Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust’, the organization that manages the Ram temple, resigned from his post, taking moral responsibility after the theft incident. However, the investigation of this entire matter is still going on and the investigating agencies are investigating all the aspects in detail.