An FIR was registered on Thursday against eight individuals on the charges of embezzlement, fraud, criminal conspiracy and breach of trust in connection with missing donations at the Ram temple.
The move comes amid an ongoing probe into the matter by a special investigation team (SIT), which submitted a preliminary report of its findings to the Uttar Pradesh Government two days ago.
Sources said the FIR did not name senior Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Trust members Champat Rai and Anil Mishra. They said Lavkush Mishra and Anukalp Mishra, against whom the FIR has been lodged, were among those involved in counting the cash and valuables received as donations at the temple. Avinash Shukla, Karunesh Pandey, Manish Yadav, Rama Shankar Mishra and Subhash Srivastava were the other accused named in the FIR.
The FIR was registered on the complaint of Krishna Mohan, a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, the sources said. According to the police, the case has been registered under Sections 306 (theft), 316 (criminal breach of trust), 317 (dishonestly receiving stolen property) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), among other penal provisions.
Meanwhile, AAP MP Sanjay Singh on Thursday submitted documents to the SIT probing alleged irregularities in donations received by the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. In a post on X, Singh alleged that the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust had committed a scam worth crores of rupees through land purchases.
The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Wednesday demanded the registration of an FIR and a day-to-day hearing of the case. The Vishwa Sindhi Seva Sangam (VSSS), a Mumbai-based organisation of the Sindhi community, also sought to know how the 200 silver bricks, each weighing one kg, donated for the Ram temple were used.
