Jagran correspondent, Ayodhya: After 20 days, the first FIR was filed in the Ram Mandir Donation Theft Case in which the Uttar Pradesh Police have arrested all eight accused in the alleged embezzlement of funds from donation boxes for the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. On Thursday, an FIR was lodged at the Ram Janmabhoomi police station based on a complaint filed by Krishnamohan, a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.

According to a report by Jagran, those arrested include individuals associated with the temple administration as well as a former bank employee involved in handling the donation funds.

Who all have been arrested and under which sections?

The eight accused have been booked under the following provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS):

  • Section 306: Theft of property, punishable with up to seven years' imprisonment.
  • Section 316(5): Criminal breach of trust, punishable with life imprisonment or imprisonment up to ten years.
  • Sections 317(4) and 317(5): Knowingly concealing or assisting in the disposal of stolen or misappropriated property, punishable with imprisonment ranging from three to seven years.
  • Section 61: Criminal conspiracy. If convicted, the punishment is the same as that prescribed for the principal offence.
  • Section 3(5): Commission of an offence by members of a group acting with a common intention. The punishment is the same as that for the principal offence.

Names of the accused

- Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu: Former driver of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust General Secretary Champat Rai. He was closely associated with the temple's day-to-day operations and allegedly had access to the keys of the donation boxes.

- Anukalp Mishra: An employee responsible for counting donation cash. Police have described him as the alleged mastermind of the embezzlement. He was the first person arrested, and around Rs 20 lakh in cash was reportedly recovered from his residence in Kaushalpuri.

- Lavkush Mishra: Brother-in-law of Anukalp Mishra. He was employed by his father-in-law, Ravindra Mishra, who is Anukalp's father. Police recovered nearly Rs 10 lakh in cash from his residence.

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- Manish Yadav: Nephew of Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu. He was hired by Tinnu around four to five months ago. Police also recovered cash from his house.

- Subhash Srivastava: A retired Canara Bank employee who later joined the trust. He was responsible for supervising the counting of donation money.

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- Avinash Shukla: A resident of Ayodhya who was involved in counting donations. Police said around Rs 5 lakh was recovered from his bank account.

-Karunesh Pandey: He was associated with the counting of donations and is said to have been a close associate of Anukalp Mishra.

- Ramashankar Mishra: He was also involved in counting the donation money. Police said cash was recovered from his possession during the investigation.