Uttar Pradesh Police arrested eight people after the Special Investigation Team submitted a report to the state government on the basis of oral, documentary and electronic evidence. Two of them – Anukalp Mishra and Lavkush Mishra – are linked to each other and also to Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra member Anil Mishra, according to locals in Ayodhya. Two other people – Ram Shankar “Tino” Yadav and Manish Yadav – are also linked.
Prosecuting officer KC Verma said five to six of those arrested were bank employees who were deployed to account for cash donations received at the temple and were receiving salaries from the bank. He said they were external employees working for the State Bank of India (SBI). HT takes a look:
Ram Shankar Yadav “Tino”: The 55-60-year-old is a close aide and driver of Champat Rai, who was appointed as the general secretary of the trust in 2020. He hails from Ayodhya. His father ran a small café near Naya Ghat, and he worked as an auto driver and speedster in the city during the mid-1990s. He became part of the temple administration after the temple opened in January 2024 and was involved in security, counting and transportation of offerings, Trust officials said.
Manish Yadav: Manish Yadav is the son of Ram Shankar Yadav’s younger brother Balram Yadav. Officials said that Manish participated in the process of counting donations at the temple.
Anukalp Mishra: Anukalp Mishra, a resident of Basawan village in Milkipur district of Ayodhya, is related to Anukalp Mishra and is the brother-in-law of co-accused Lavkush Mishra. It was part of the process of counting daily donations.
Lakush Mishra: Lavkush Mishra was related to Anil Mishra and is Anukalp Mishra’s brother-in-law. It was part of the process of counting donations at the temple.
Subhash Srivastava: Srivastava, a former bank employee, was responsible for counting money at the Ram Mandir and supervised the operation.
Karunesh Pandey: Karunesh Pandey allegedly tampered with financial receipts relating to donations received while working as part of the team responsible for handling and counting cash and valuables provided by devotees in the donation boxes.
Ramashankar Mishra: Ramashankar Mishra has no relation to Lavkush Mishra or Anukalp Mishra. The cashier official said he was part of the team responsible for handling, sorting and counting cash and valuables offered by devotees. A police officer said he was caught on CCTV footage stealing donation money during the cash sorting process.
Avinash Shukla: The police officer said he was part of the team responsible for handling and counting cash and valuables received as donations at the Ram Mandir.
