8 Named, Unidentified Accused Booked For Theft, Criminal Breach Of Trust: What FIR In Ram Temple Donation Theft Case Says

Ayodhya: Republic has accessed the FIR registered in the alleged Ram Mandir donation theft case, which reveals that eight named accused and one unidentified person have been booked for the alleged theft and misappropriation of devotees' offerings at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple.

The FIR has been registered at the Ram Janmabhoomi Police Station in Ayodhya on the complaint of Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust member Krishna Mohan.

According to the General Diary details accessed by Republic, the FIR, registered at the Ram Janmabhoomi police station, names the following accused:

• Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu
• Avinash Shukla
• Anukalp Mishra
• Lavkush Mishra
• Manish Yadav
• Karunesh Pandey
• Ramashankar Mishra
• Subhash Srivastava

Apart from these eight, one unidentified accused has also been named in the FIR.

What Does The FIR Say?

The complaint alleges that the accused, acting in conspiracy, dishonestly removed and misappropriated cash donations made by devotees at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple. The FIR further states that CCTV footage, electronic evidence and other material collected during the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe formed the basis for registering the criminal case.

The FIR records that the SIT submitted its report after examining evidence, following which criminal proceedings were initiated.

Sections Invoked

According to the FIR, the accused have been booked under the following provisions:

• Section 305 – Theft
• Section 306 – Theft by clerk/servant or person in a position of trust
• Section 316(5) – Criminal breach of trust
• Section 317(4)
• Section 317(5)
• Section 61 – Criminal conspiracy
• Section 3(5) – Common intention/common liability

Additionally, Section 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 has also been invoked.

Investigation Intensifies

The FIR comes after the Uttar Pradesh government constituted a Special Investigation Team to probe allegations of irregularities in temple donations. Following the submission of the SIT report, police registered the case and launched a criminal investigation.

All eight named accused have since been arrested and are expected to be produced before the court.

The case has also triggered administrative action within the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, with senior functionaries Champat Rai and Anil Mishra reportedly resigning, according to sources, hours after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reiterated that "nobody will be spared" if found guilty of betraying the faith of devotees.

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