From Selling Water To Ram Temple Theft Accused: ₹20 Lakh Cash Recovery Raises Fresh Questions

Lucknow: The recovery of ₹20 lakh in cash, foreign currency and jewellery from the house of a primary school teacher arrested in the alleged Ram Temple donation theft case has raised fresh questions over the functioning of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust and the handling of the investigation.

At the centre of the controversy is Avinash Shukla, one of the suspects who worked in the temple’s donation counting section. Investigators are trying to establish how a man with a modest income allegedly amassed such wealth within a few months. The recovery has also brought attention to another issue. According to witnesses and sources, irregularities in donation counting were detected on June 5 and Avinash was removed from duty the same day. However, an FIR was registered only on June 7, hours after SP chief Akhilesh Yadav flagged it on social media.

The two-day delay has become one of the key issues being examined by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

People associated with the Shyam Sadhan Yog Kendra in Ayodhya said Avinash came from a modest background and worked as a primary school teacher with a monthly salary of around ₹14,000- 15,000. Before joining the Ram Temple’s donation counting section in March this year, he reportedly sold water near Hanuman Gufa.

Police allegedly recovered ₹20 lakh in cash from his residence, the highest recovery among the eight suspects arrested in the case.

A seizure memo that surfaced on Wednesday showed that investigators also seized 1,121 US dollars, silver ornaments weighing 159.54 grams, an eight-gram gold chain and a gold ring weighing 3.44 grams.

A key witness, Sevadar Sundarlal, claimed that on June 5, four policemen and some persons linked to the trust brought Avinash to his room at the Shyam Sadhan Yog Kendra in Kaushalpuri.

According to Sundarlal, a trunk was opened using a key and two bags were taken out before everyone present was asked to leave. He later learnt that around ₹20 lakh had been recovered from Avinash.

Yoga instructor Seema Tiwari said Avinash’s brother, Abhishek Shukla, had been associated with the centre for nearly a decade and had introduced Avinash to the institution about one-and-ahalf years ago. She claimed Abhishek had links with people associated with the temple, which may have helped Avinash secure a job in the donation counting section.

The controversy has also reached the top leadership of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Sources said eastern Uttar Pradesh regional pracharak Anil Kumar recently spent three days in Ayodhya and prepared a report on the temple’s management and the alleged donation theft, which has been submitted to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

A meeting of the 15-member Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust is scheduled for July 6. Sources said discussions are underway on restructuring the trust, increasing the representation of saints and reviewing the powers and responsibilities of certain office-bearers. The future role of some functionaries, including Gopal Rao, could also come up for discussion.