Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Police are set to seek custody of two men accused in the Ram temple donation controversy, brother-in-law Lavkush Mishra and Anukalp Mishra, as investigators seek to unravel the mechanism of the alleged theft and whether the money was used to acquire assets, senior officials familiar with the investigation said on Saturday.
The above officials said that the police will request Additional District Magistrate (Anti-Corruption) Rajat Varma to grant police custody of the two accused men. Last week, the state police questioned another accused, Avinash Shukla, after he was detained in police custody for a day.
The officials added that the police will look to verify the disclosures made by Avinash Shukla, who was taken to multiple locations in Ayodhya on Friday, including a hotel where money was allegedly distributed to the accused. Shukla was also taken to his native Pratapgarh district to inspect the locations he identified.
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The eight men arrested so far include Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Ram Shankar “Tino” Yadav, Manish Yadav, Subhash Srivastava, Avinash Shukla, Rama Shankar Mishra and Karunesh Pandey. Anukalp Mishra and Luvkush Mishra are linked to each other, as well as to trust member Anil Mishra, who resigned last week along with trust general secretary Champat Rai. Ram Shankar Yadav – Rai’s assistant – and Manish Yadav are linked. Last week, the police made an arrest $79,85,493 of the eight men arrested, recover money from pigeons, haystacks and cow dung cakes.
Previous searches at Shukla’s rented accommodation in Ayodhya yielded good results $20 lakh in cash, US$ 1,100, gold and silver jewellery, and a donation box marked ‘Ram Rajya Kush’ – the recoveries significantly expanded the scope of the investigation. The police also recovered $16.82 lakh from Anukalp W $14.25 lakh from Lafkush during last week’s raids.
Police officials said Shukla revealed information regarding hidden cash and valuables, prompting investigators to conduct recovery operations and verify his claims on the ground.
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Officials said Shukla’s statements now need to be independently confirmed through custodial interrogation of the remaining accused, especially Lavkush and Anukalp, who investigators suspect may have crucial information about the alleged movement and concealment and disposal of devotees’ donations.
Investigators expect to confront the duo with documentary evidence, digital records and Shukla’s disclosures to determine whether their stories are consistent or contradictory. Police are also likely to question them about the distribution of the alleged embezzled funds, the role of each accused, and whether any other individuals were involved in the alleged conspiracy.
The controversy first surfaced on June 7 when Samajwadi Party leader Tej Narayan “Pawan” Pandey claimed the donations were worth… $5 Crores $Rs 7.5 crore has been withdrawn from the temple offerings.
On June 13, the state government set up the Special Investigation Committee. According to investigators, the investigation prima facie revealed a systematic transfer of money during the addition and counting process. The court claimed that a portion of the offerings were withdrawn before being deposited in the temple’s designated bank account, leading to the arrest of eight employees associated with handling and counting donations on June 26.
Last month, a First Information Report was registered against 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 offenses like criminal breach of trust, cheating, theft and criminal conspiracy, along with Section 13 (1) (a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
