Ayodhya donation scam: Police raid homes of eight arrested, SIT with special move

NEW DELHI: Police conducted raids at the houses of eight arrested in the Ayodhya Ram temple donation scam. Six police teams launched simultaneous raids at various places at around 7 am today on the instructions of the Special Investigation Team. Meanwhile, following the incident, the trust confirmed the resignation of Ram Temple Trust General Secretary Champat Rai and member Anil Mishra.

The police are questioning family members to find out about the financial transactions, foreign connections and associates of the accused. In addition, the police have also spoken to neighbours to gather information about visitors to the accused's house and suspicious movements. The police said that scientific evidence is being collected to find out if more people are involved in the fraud conspiracy.

Champat Rai's close associates Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu, Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavakush Mishra, Subhash Srivastava, Rama Shankar Mishra, Manish Yadav and Karunesh Pandey are currently in judicial custody.

The controversy began on June 7 when Samajwadi Party leader Tej Narayan Pawan Pandey alleged that between Rs 5 crore and Rs 7.5 crore had been diverted from the offerings and donations made by devotees to the temple. On June 13, the state government appointed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) at the request of the trust. During the initial investigation conducted in Ayodhya between June 15 and 20, the SIT found serious irregularities in the handling of money and other valuables given by devotees.