Ayodhya court extends custody of 8 accused in Ram temple donation theft case

A court in Ayodhya extended until September 18 the judicial custody of eight accused arrested in an alleged Ram temple donation theft case. The accused were associated with the donation-counting process, while investigators have reportedly recovered cash and valuables worth Rs 79.85 lakh

Ayodhya (UP): A court here on Saturday extended till September 18 the judicial custody of all eight accused arrested in connection with the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple, their lawyer said. The eight accused, who were associated with the temple’s donation-counting process, were arrested after an FIR was lodged on June 25 following a preliminary report by a state government-constituted Special Investigation Team. They are currently lodged in jail.

Lawyer Kul Shekhar Singh, who represents the accused, told PTI that the judicial custody of all the accused was extended till September 18.

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The order was passed by Special Judge Rajat Verma of the Anti-Corruption Court in Ayodhya. The eight accused arrested in the case are Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lav Kush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ram Shankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ramashankar alias Tinnu Yadav. The case relates to the embezzlement of cash and valuables offered by devotees at the Ram temple. Investigators have so far recovered Rs 79.85 lakh, according to the prosecution.

Most of the accused were bank employees deployed for counting cash donations at the temple, while Srivastava was in charge of the donation-counting process and Tinnu Yadav worked as a driver.

Earlier on Tuesday, the counsel had recently sought the unfreezing of Subhash Srivastava’s Canara Bank account, arguing that the account received his pension and was being used to support his family. The court had adjourned that plea to September 9.