LUCKNOW: Amid intense speculation over the resignation of Vishwa Hindu Parishad vice president and Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra general secretary Champat Rai following the arrest of eight persons over donation theft, VHP spokesperson Vijay Shankar Tiwari on Friday emphatically denied it.
Tiwari pointed out that Rai had fully cooperated with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the UP government to probe the matter, adding he did not figure in the police FIR that identified the eight accused persons.
He also said the VHP hasn’t sought Rai’s arrest, suggesting it was a media creation. Those who hurt the Hindu faith must not be spared but the innocent should not be proceeded against either, he added.
The eight accused — Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu, Lavkush Mishra, Anukalp Mishra, Avinash Shukla, Manish Yadav, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Chandra Srivastava and Karunesh Pandey — were produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate Nivedita Singh, who remanded them in judicial custody till Monday. A total `79,85,493 was recovered from the possession of accused persons.
While Lavkush Mishra and Anukalp Mishra are among those involved in counting of offerings received as donations at the temple, Tinnu Yadav used to be the driver of Champat Rai and had been involved in the temple’s management since the consecration ceremony in 2024, an official said.