Police investigating the alleged theft of offerings at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, found that a part of the allegedly stolen money was invested in the stock market and lent on interest. This information was given by the police on Thursday. According to the police, many transactions were done through the bank accounts of relatives and close associates. Sources said that as part of the investigation, the police took accused Anukalp Mishra to his house and searched him for about 20 minutes. During this time his family members were also interrogated. Earlier on Wednesday, the police had similarly taken co-accused Luvkush Mishra and Karunesh Pandey to their homes, where searches were conducted.
The police have frozen transactions in 30 bank accounts of relatives of the three accused Karunesh Pandey, Anukalp Mishra and Lavkush Mishra. Sources said that in the initial investigation, more transactions have been found in these accounts than the known sources of income of the account holders. Bundles of cash, gold jewelery including earrings and lockets and a car were recovered during searches conducted at the houses of the three accused.
How much cash is not disclosed
The police, however, did not disclose the amount of cash recovered nor did it say from which accused’s residence the seized items were found. Sources said that during interrogation, Anukalp Mishra and co-accused Avinash allegedly admitted that the stolen money was invested in the stock market and also lent on interest.
According to sources, the police also found that the money was distributed among close associates and relatives and later transferred back to their bank accounts to hide the transactions. After interrogating Anukalp Mishra, the police raided his house in Ayodhya, where documents related to the purchase of one acre of land in his name were recovered.
How much is an acre worth?
According to the documents, this land was purchased for around Rs 6.7 lakh. However, its current market price is estimated to be many times higher. In the first week of June, a controversy had arisen after alleged irregularities in counting the amount of offerings in the Ram temple in Ayodhya came to light.
Following the recommendation of the Trust, the Uttar Pradesh government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT). The SIT found prima facie evidence of embezzlement, after which an FIR was registered and eight people involved in the calculation of temple donations were arrested. Police said that investigation into the matter is ongoing.
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