AYODHYA, July 1 -- Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai on Tuesday alleged that he had been placed under "house arrest" and prevented from offering prayers at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, a visit he had announced a day earlier. Rai had reached Ayodhya on Monday evening and was staying at a hotel. He claimed that around midnight, police forced him to leave the hotel and shifted him to the guest house of Acharya Narendra Dev University of Agriculture and Technology in Kumarganj, about 60 km from Ayodhya. "I was forced to leave the hotel late at night and brought to the university guest house. I have been confined here under police watch," Rai said, questioning why he was prevented from visiting the temple. A Congress delegation led by Rai was scheduled to visit the Ram temple on Tuesday amid the ongoing controversy over alleged embezzlement of donations at the shrine. The delegation included MPs Kishori Lal Sharma (Amethi), Rakesh Rathore (Sitapur), Ujjwal Raman Singh (Prayagraj) and Tanuj Punia (Barabanki). "What kind of government is this that is scared of our visiting the Ram temple? I think they have arrested me. Why else would they bring me here in the middle of the night and keep me confined?" Rai said. There was no immediate confirmation from Ayodhya police on whether Rai had been formally detained. Rai alleged that other Congress leaders travelling to Ayodhya were either stopped en route, confined to their homes or prevented from leaving by police. Amethi MP Kishori Lal Sharma, in a video message, claimed he too had been stopped from visiting the temple. "They could not stop the theft of donations, but they have stopped us Hindus from offering prayers. What kind of Sanatan tradition prevents devotees from having darshan?" Sharma said. Late on Monday night, Rai's wife, Reena Rai, released a video alleging that her husband had been taken into police custody and that the family had not been informed of his whereabouts. On Tuesday morning, hundreds of Congress workers gathered outside the university guest house and staged a protest demanding Rai's release. In Ayodhya, Congress workers led by former Rajya Sabha MP Aliya Zubairi marched towards the Ram temple but were stopped at the Ram Janmabhoomi police station barricade. Police allegedly used force to prevent the protesters from moving ahead. The police avoided any official comment on the incident. Police sources said Aliya Zubairi, Youth District Congress president Sunil Krishna Gautam 'Ranu' and around two dozen Congress workers, including youth leader Sharad Shukla, were detained and taken to the police lines. Rai had offered prayers at the Ram temple on June 18, days after allegations of embezzlement of donations surfaced. The alleged embezzlement has triggered a political row, with opposition parties demanding a wider probe and the BJP accusing them of politicising a religious issue....