The investigation into the alleged theft of donation money at the Ayodhya Ram Temple has taken a new turn. Police sources said one of the arrested accused, Avinash Shukla, has revealed how the stolen money was allegedly hidden inside washrooms before being taken out of the temple complex.
After getting permission from the court, police questioned Avinash Shukla for nearly two hours on Tuesday. During the interrogation, he allegedly admitted that crores of rupees had been stolen and explained how the theft was carried out.
According to police sources, Shukla said that one key to the donation counting room was with Ramashankar alias Tinnu Yadav, while the second key was with bank officials.
He allegedly told investigators that the theft involved several people. While one person collected the money, others created a cover around him to avoid suspicion.
Shukla also claimed that the accused knew the locations of CCTV cameras inside the temple complex. Using this knowledge, they allegedly avoided camera coverage and temporarily hid the money in washrooms before taking it out when they found the right opportunity.
According to the sources, the accused believed they would not come under suspicion because they were closely associated with people involved in the temple’s donation management. He also claimed that although CCTV cameras were installed, the surveillance team was not actively monitoring their movements.
During the questioning, the name of temple trustee Anil Mishra also came up again. The accused allegedly claimed that Mishra had an important role in the donation counting process.
Following the controversy over the handling of temple donations, trustee Anil Mishra and Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust General Secretary Champat Rai resigned last week.
Apart from Avinash Shukla, the other arrested accused include Ramashankar alias Tinnu Yadav, Subhash Srivastava, Anukalp Mishra, Lav Kush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Ram Shankar Mishra and Karunesh Pandey.
Police sources further said that Shukla claimed the stolen money was used to buy land and a house. Investigators are now examining the financial transactions and assets linked to the accused.
The investigation is also focusing on how the alleged theft continued for a long period without being detected and whether more people were involved.
The Uttar Pradesh government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on June 13 to investigate the case.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that the temple trust recovered Rs 58 lakh from Avinash Shukla’s house on June 5, even before the FIR was officially registered. The remaining amount was reportedly returned through bank transfers between June 5 and June 8, suggesting that efforts to recover the money had already begun before the police case was formally filed.
