Lucknow: The recovery of Rs 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, an accused in the case who worked in the temple's donation counting section. Investigators are now trying to establish how a man with a modest income allegedly amassed such wealth in a matter of months.
The recovery has also put the spotlight on another troubling 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 Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav raised the issue on social media.
The two-day delay has become one of the key questions before the Special Investigation Team (SIT).
Teacher with a modest background
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 Rs 14,000-15,000. Before joining the Ram Temple's counting section in March this year, he reportedly sold water near Hanuman Gufa.
Police allegedly recovered Rs 20 lakh in cash from his residence, the highest recovery among the eight accused arrested in the case.
A seizure memo that surfaced on Wednesday showed that apart from cash, investigators seized 1,121 US dollars, silver ornaments weighing 159.54 grams, an eight-gram gold chain and a gold ring weighing 3.44 grams.
Witness account
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 him, 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 Rs 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-a-half 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.
RSS takes note
The controversy has also reached the top leadership of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
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 donation theft controversy, which has been submitted to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
A meeting of the 15-member Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust is scheduled on 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.
