- Champat Rai named Tinnu Yadav as the main figure in the Ram Temple donation theft case
- Tinnu Yadav and seven others were arrested for embezzling temple donation funds
- Cash was recovered from accused homes, including Rs 89 lakh from Avinash Shukla's hideout
Every day brings in new revelations in the Ram Temple donation theft case. According to sources, Champat Rai, who has resigned from the trust, has told his close aides that Tinnu Yadav is the main character in the donation theft case. Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav was also Champat Rai's driver.
People close to Champat Rai said he admitted that Tinnu Yadav is the key figure behind the entire scam. "Tinnu Yadav took advantage of his trust to carry out the fraud," Rai has told people close to him. According to Rai, when Yadav was about to get caught, he leaked information to a Samajwadi leader, sources said.
Tinnu Yadav is one of the eight accused arrested by the police in the donation theft case. The others are Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lav Kush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, and Subhash Srivastava.
Police recently also recorded Champat Rai's statement. It is not known when, where, or for how long he was questioned. According to sources, he has been asked to provide information and documents related to the alleged embezzlement of offerings. Champat Rai resigned from the post of the general secretary of the Ram Mandir Trust on June 27 after the theft case exploded. Trustee Anil Mishra had also resigned with him.
Three days ago, Ayodhya Police visited the homes of all the accused for the probe. During this, cash was recovered from Tinnu Yadav's house.
Tinnu Yadav was tasked with overseeing the transportation of devotee donations from the temple's collection boxes to the basement for counting. He is accused of orchestrating the theft of valuable offerings and embezzling funds.
Sources said the probe found that while Tinnu Yadav had one key to the counting room, the second key was with bank staff. The money was allegedly siphoned off through collusion with bank staff. Tinnu Yadav and the bank employees took a share of the stolen money, sources said.
Picture With Wads Of Cash
Meanwhile, a photo of accused Avinash Shukla's brother is going viral on social media, showing him holding bundles of currency notes in his hands.
Viral photo of accused Avinash Shukla's brother Amit with cash
Police will now also investigate this photo. In the image, Avinash's brother Amit Shukla is seen standing with bundles of notes in his hands. The photo is claimed to be from August last year. Police will verify the authenticity of the picture and may also question Amit Shukla.
The maximum cash, Rs 89 lakh, was recovered based on information provided by accused Avinash Shukla. Cash was also recovered from the Kaushalpuri hideout of accused Avinash Shukla, police said.
NDTV visited the location, which is a yoga centre linked to Avinash Shukla's second brother Abhishek. Seema Tiwari, who runs the yoga centre, said police raided the premises on June 5 and recovered a large amount of cash. Four boxes belonging to Abhishek were kept at the yoga centre. The cash was hidden inside blankets in these boxes. One box had 'Ram Rajya Kosh' written on it.
According to Seema Tiwari, when Abhishek was asked about the raid and the cash, he claimed that his brother Avinash Shukla was in the drug trade and that was why the raid took place.
