All 8 Ram Temple Theft Accused Remanded To Judicial Custody Until 18 September
Judicial custody of all eight accused in the Ram temple theft case extended to 18 September.
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The judicial custody of all eight individuals arrested in connection with the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya has been extended until 18 September. The accused, who were involved in the temple's donation-counting process, remain lodged in jail following their arrest after an FIR was filed on 25 June. The extension was ordered by the Special Judge of the Anti-Corruption Court in Ayodhya on 5 September.
According to undefined, the eight accused are Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lav Kush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ram Shankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava, and Ramashankar alias Tinnu Yadav. Most of them were bank employees assigned to count cash donations at the temple, while Srivastava was in charge of the donation-counting process and Tinnu Yadav worked as a driver.
The case pertains to the alleged embezzlement of cash and valuables offered by devotees at the Ram temple. Investigators have so far recovered Rs 79.85 lakh, as stated by the prosecution. The accused were arrested after a preliminary report by a Special Investigation Team constituted by the state government.
Bail applications for the accused are scheduled to be heard on different dates. Three of the accused will have their bail pleas heard on 11 September, another three on 14 September, and the remaining two on 15 September as per legal counsel. The court has also adjourned the plea to unfreeze Srivastava's Canara Bank account, which reportedly receives his pension and supports his family, to 9 September.
“The judicial custody of all the accused was extended till September 18,” said lawyer Kul Shekhar Singh, who represents the accused.
Further details regarding the donation-counting process were provided in the bail application of Subhash Srivastava, who claimed he was falsely implicated and that several others, apart from the eight arrested, were involved in the process according to statements made in court.
The accused remain in judicial custody as the investigation continues, with the next court proceedings scheduled for mid-September. The Special Investigation Team is continuing its probe into the alleged embezzlement, and further recoveries or arrests have not been reported as the case develops.
Note: This article is produced using AI-assisted tools and is based on publicly available information. It has been reviewed by The Quint's editorial team before publishing.