AYODHYA, June 29 -- As outrage mounts in Ram temple donation row, the Faizabad Bar Association on Monday refused to represent the eight accused arrested in the alleged theft of donations from the Ram Temple and demanded a CBI probe into the case, even as a local court sent all the accused to 14 days of judicial custody.
The accused were produced before the court on Monday. Police did not seek their custodial remand and the court remanded all eight to judicial custody till July 13.
Taking a strident stand, the Faizabad Bar Association said none of its members would appear for the accused. Association president Kalika Prasad Mishra said any lawyer who takes up their defence would face a penalty of Rs 5 lakh and could also face cancellation of his licence.
The lawyers' body also announced plans to seek registration of cases against former Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust office-bearers Champat Rai, Gopal Rao and Anil Mishra. It said it would press for a CBI investigation and, if necessary, move the Supreme Court and the Allahabad High Court at its own expense.
A section of advocates also demanded that Champat Rai, Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao leave Ayodhya within three days, warning that the entire city would be blocked if they failed to do so. However, Bar Association president Kalika Prasad Mishra said the three should not be allowed to leave Ayodhya while the investigation is underway.
Earlier in the day, police questioned Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai and recorded his statement. Sources said he was questioned for several hours behind closed doors on issues related to the counting of donations, security arrangements and the procedure adopted for handling temple offerings.
Investigators have also recorded the statements of other trust office-bearers and employees as part of the probe into the collection, counting and bank deposit of donations.
The alleged theft of money from the Ram Temple's donation collections came to light on June 6. Following a recommendation by the temple trust, the Uttar Pradesh government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which submitted its report to the state government two days ago.
Based on the findings, trust member Krishna Mohan lodged an FIR on June 25 against six personnel involved in counting donations: Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey and Ramashankar Mishra. The FIR also named supervisory staff member Subhash Srivastava and Ramshankar alias Tinnu, the driver of trust general secretary Champat Rai.
The alleged theft of donations at the Ram Temple has triggered widespread outrage in Ayodhya and intensified demands for accountability in the management of offerings at the country's most prominent Hindu shrine.
In the apex court, Justices M M Sundresh and Sheel Nagu refused an urgent hearing on a plea on the allegations and said the matter will be listed for hearing after the summer break. The court will reopen on July 13.
"Heavens are not going to fall. What is the urgency," the bench observed orally.
The petition, filed by advocates Ajay Kumar Rai and Dinesh Kumar Yadav, said a CBI-led multi-disciplinary SIT should investigate the alleged financial irregularities and other purported illegalities concerning the affairs and administration of the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
The plea also sought directions to the Centre, the UP government and the temple trust to constitute and operationalise such regulatory, supervisory and audit mechanisms as may be necessary to safeguard public interest and maintain the confidence of millions of devotees and donors.
The opposition sharpened its attack on the BJP, which has highlighted the Ram temple construction among its major achievements, with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav urging "true Sanatanis" not to vote for the BJP or seek election tickets from the party, alleging that it had "betrayed Lord Ram".
Yadav claimed that "links of the theft" extended to Karnataka and that these people were also involved in "election-related conspiracies".
Speaking in the same vein, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal urged the people to defeat the BJP, alleging that they had "looted" the country and did not even spare Lord Ram.
The BJP, on its part, described the lawyers' move as a "powerful message from Hindu society" and asserted that those accused of looting in Ayodhya are not only facing the full force of the law but also social boycott.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has made it clear that exemplary punishment will be meted out to the guilty and speedy justice will be ensured, the party said, adding the case will proceed as per the rule of law.
As the sparring between the BJP and the opposition parties intensified, the Congress said that its high-level delegation led by its Uttar Pradesh chief Ajay Rai will visit Ayodhya on Tuesday
Speaking to reporters in Raipur, Pawan Khera, Chairman (Media and Publicity Department), AICC, said the alleged donation theft at the Ram Temple was only a brief glimpse and more such cases were yet to come.
The SIT probing the alleged theft of donations at the Ram Temple on Monday reached the State Bank of India's Ayodhya Dham branch, shifting the focus of the investigation from the arrested counting staff to a more uncomfortable question: did the bank know that money was being siphoned off from the temple's donation boxes and fail to act in time?
The SIT questioned senior SBI officials, including the branch manager, and collected bank statements of seven of the eight arrested accused. Investigators are now examining the money trail and trying to establish whether there were warning signs that were ignored despite suspicions of theft.
Sources said the alleged embezzlement first came to light not through an audit or internal vigilance mechanism but because of a security guard's alertness. During one of the counting sessions inside the temple premises, one of the counting staff allegedly attempted to hide cash in a toilet. The suspicious act was noticed by the guard, leading to a closer scrutiny of the counting process and eventually exposing the alleged scam. The revelation has put SBI under the scanner.
According to sources, the bank had suspected irregularities in the donation counting process nearly three months ago and had recommended the removal of the staff involved in handling the cash. However, the employees continued to remain on duty.
Of the eight arrested accused, six were outsourced personnel engaged through an agency working for SBI. They were not employees of the Ram Mandir Trust.
The other two arrested accused, Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu and Subhash Srivastava, were not directly involved in counting the donations but are alleged to have played other roles in the conspiracy.
The SIT is also examining the role of two SBI employees, Ratnesh and Gagandeep, who supervised the outsourced staff during the counting process. Both were regular bank employees and were present in the counting rooms when donations were being counted before being deposited into the trust's account. The probe has also brought the process of appointments under scrutiny. Investigators are looking into allegations that several personnel engaged in the counting work were appointed through recommendations and without proper police verification.
The controversy has already triggered major changes within the temple trust, with Champat Rai and Anil Mishra stepping down from their positions.
As the investigation reaches the doors of SBI, the Ram Temple donation scam is no longer just about eight arrested men. It has become a larger inquiry into whether red flags were ignored and whether an opportunity to stop the theft months ago was allowed to slip away.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.