Ram Temple Theft Case: Ayodhya Court Extends Judicial Custody Of 8 Accused Till Sept 18

Jagran Correspondent | Ayodhya: A court in UP’s Ayodhya on Saturday extended the judicial custody of all eight accused till September 18. The eight were arrested in connection with the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple. The order was passed by Special Judge Rajat Verma of the Anti-Corruption Court in Ayodhya.

The eight accused arrested in the case are identified as Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lav Kush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ram Shankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ramashankar alias Tinnu Yadav. The accused have filed an application in court questioning the police's remand under incorrect sections and the seizures, which was dismissed.

Officials Failed To Specify Individual Stolen Amounts 

On Saturday, roughly 72 days after their arrest, the accused submitted bail applications in the Special Anti-Corruption Court. They argued that the investigating officer failed to specify the individual amounts allegedly stolen from the temple premises. The court registered the plea and requested a report from the police.

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The bail application cites the SIT report, in which the trust itself claimed to have recovered approximately Rs 81.19 lakh foreign currency, jewellery, and other valuables. Additionally, the investigator has described these recovered items as stolen, showing them recovered from the accused on June 26 from a locker in the possession and control of trustee and plaintiff Krishnamohan.

The petition calls this seizure suspicious. It alleges that the accused have been used to protect senior trust officials. The accused have previously made several similar moves, levelling serious allegations about the arrest, remand provisions, and police performance. However, the court has dismissed the accused's petition.

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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.