LUCKNOW: The Supreme Court-mandated Special Investigation Team (SIT) filed a nearly 70,000-page chargesheet against eight accused arrested and jailed in connection with the Ram Temple donation embezzlement case before the Additional District Judge (Corruption) Court in Ayodhya on Wednesday.
The chargesheet names Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav, Anukalp Mishra, Avinash Shukla, Karunesh Pandey, Manish Yadav, Lavkush Mishra, Ramashankar Mishra and Subhash Srivastava.
The chargesheet was filed within the statutory 90-day period from the first arrest in connection with the case. It includes charges of criminal breach of trust and offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act against the accused.
It may be recalled that the episode of swindling of donation funds of the temple had surfaced on June 7 this year, and a case was registered later in June after the SIT's preliminary probe flagged suspected diversion of temple donations. Investigators recovered Rs 79.85 lakh in cash allegedly linked to the embezzlement from all accused except Srivastava.
The chargesheet spans around 70,000 pages, including annexures, over 100 case diaries, statements of nearly 190 witnesses, banking records, property details, asset trails and findings of a forensic audit.
The SIT, set up following the Supreme Court’s orders on July 13, is headed by Lucknow Range Inspector General of Police Kiran S, along with DIG Faizabad Range Somen Barma and SSP, Ayodhya, Gaurav Grover.
The SIT uncovered 105 instances of unauthorised removal or concealment of cash during the counting process inside the temple premises.
The probe tracked donations from collection boxes and counters to bank deposits.
While investigators found evidence of cash being siphoned off during counting, they found no signs of pilferage during its transfer to banks.
The SIT also verified 803 valuable donated articles recorded in the temple trust's software and found no discrepancies. Another 86 valuables without receipts were physically verified to check for any unaccounted donations.
Investigators further examined donations of silver, including 200 kg of silver bricks, a 38.288-kg consignment, a silver necklace, Charan Paduka and a copy of the Ramcharitmanas. Around 944.411 kg of silver sent to the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd for melting was also verified.
The SIT scrutinised bank accounts, deposits, withdrawals, properties, vehicles, jewellery and construction expenditure of the accused to trace the money trail and assess whether their assets were disproportionate to known sources of income. A forensic audit formed a key part of the investigation, officials said.
