Police filed a 40,000-page chargesheet against eight accused in the Ayodhya Ram Temple donation theft case. The police submitted the chargesheet before the court on Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, the filing has ended the possibility of default bail for the accused. Three accused had remained in jail for nearly three months during the investigation.
Court Rejects Bail Pleas Of Several Accused
Earlier, the special court rejected bail pleas of Anukalp Mishra, Karunesh Pandey, and Lavkush Mishra. Additionally, the court dismissed bail requests of Avinash Shukla, Ramashankar Mishra, and Manish Yadav on Monday.
Furthermore, the court will hear bail pleas of Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu and Subhash Chandra Srivastava. The hearing will take place in the same court.
SIT Investigation Revealed Multiple Theft Incidents
The Ram Temple donation theft case gained attention recently. According to the investigation, accused allegedly used crowds to steal money from donation boxes.
The investigation also alleged involvement of bank employees and some temple staff. In June, the Uttar Pradesh government formed an SIT after a request from Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
Later, police registered an FIR against eight named accused. The SIT investigation found major details through CCTV footage.
The SIT informed the Supreme Court through its status report that CCTV footage showed 105 theft incidents. Earlier, investigators suspected only 70 such incidents.
Moreover, footage showed accused hiding bundles of notes inside pockets and shoes. Investigation agencies recovered around ₹79.85 lakh cash from the accused.
The accused had hidden the recovered money inside homes, toilets, and haystacks.
Accused Included Bank Staff And Former Driver
The Ayodhya special court rejected bail applications of key accused. These included Avinash Shukla, Manish Yadav, Ramashankar Mishra, Anukalp Mishra, Karunesh Pandey, and Lavkush Mishra.
Additionally, the accused include bank employees assigned for cash counting. The list also includes supervisor Subhash Srivastava and former driver Ramshankar alias Tinnu Yadav.
