Huge Theft At Ram Mandir During Kumbh, Spotlight On 2 Brothers-In-Law: Cops
Huge Theft At Ram Mandir During Kumbh, Spotlight On 2 Brothers-In-Law: Cops
M.U.H
01/07/202629
Ayodhya: In a major revelation in the Ram Mandir donation theft case, the Ayodhya Police probe has found that the maximum theft at the Ram Temple took place during the Kumbh Mela in early 2025.
According to police, some of the eight arrested accused were involved in petty thefts even before the Kumbh. But during the Kumbh, there was a massive surge in offerings and donations at the temple. The accused took advantage of this and colluded to carry out a major theft, police said.
Eight accused have been arrested by the SIT so far: Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lav Kush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava, and Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav. The accused were grilled were for several hours by the SIT on Tuesday.
Police claim the entire conspiracy was hatched by all the eight accused.
Brother-In-Law Duo Stole Maximum Cash
The probe has revealed that the brother-in-law duo, Lavkush Mishra and Anukalp Mishra, stole the maximum amount. According to police, this duo also bought properties using the stolen money. So far, police have traced over half a dozen properties linked to the two.
Ayodhya Police is taking help from the Income Tax Department to examine the financial transactions and properties of the accused.
During the investigation, the role of some SBI employees has also come under the scanner. Ayodhya Police will also write to the Enforcement Directorate to probe the money trail and financial transactions in depth.
The counting of cash donations at the temple is authorised by SBI, which has engaged a private agency for the job. The cash offerings are made in four donation boxes and counted by a team of 14 people, including 11 bank staff and three from the temple trust.
Cash Hidden In Blankets Inside Four Boxes
The maximum cash was recovered from the Kaushalpuri hideout of accused Avinash Shukla, police said. NDTV visited the location, which is a yoga centre linked to Avinash Shukla's brother Abhishek. Seema Tiwari, who runs the yoga centre, said police raided the premises on June 5 and recovered a large amount of cash.
Four boxes belonging to Abhishek were kept at the yoga centre. The cash was hidden inside blankets in these boxes. One box had 'Ram Rajya Kosh' written on it.
According to Seema Tiwari, when Abhishek was asked about the raid and the cash, he claimed that his brother Avinash Shukla was in the drug trade and that was why the raid took place.
Cash Recovered From Homes Of Accused
Three days ago, Ayodhya Police visited the homes of all the accused for the probe. During this, cash was recovered from Tinnu Yadav's house. Tinnu Yadav was also the driver of former Trust general secretary Champat Rai.
Sources said the probe found that while Tinnu Yadav had one key to the counting room, the second key was with bank staff. The money was allegedly siphoned off through collusion with bank staff. Tinnu Yadav and the bank employees took a share of the stolen money, sources said.
Banking details were collected from the homes of all the accused, and records of their movable and immovable assets were obtained.
The probe into the offering theft found transactions in the bank accounts of the accused that were far higher than their income.
A year-long review of their accounts revealed transactions involving amounts much larger than their earnings or known sources of income. The maximum cash, Rs 89 lakh, was recovered based on information provided by accused Avinash Shukla. This money was recovered by the trust at its own level before the FIR was registered, police said.
