Ram temple donation row: VHP VP Champat Rai’s personal driver among 8 arrested for theft

LUCKNOW: The eight named as accused in the Ram temple cash embezzlement controversy had designated roles. Of them, only Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu was not directly involved with the cash counting process.Tinnu, the personal driver of Champat Rai, general secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, rose through the ranks to emerge the key administrator, who supervised multiple activities within the temple.Of the remaining seven, the temple trust made Subhash Srivastava incharge of the counting procedure. The other six were part of the private agency deputed to count and transport cash to SBI.A total of 40 counting agents were deputed by the private company to manage the cash collected from the hundis (donation boxes).The eight accused are:Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu: The sevadaar who worked for the trust handled multiple roles. He was also instrumental in facilitating the visits of highprofile VIPs. Tinnu kept the keys to the safe room where counting used to take place.Subhash Srivastava: The retired banker supervised cash counting on the trust’s behalf. He provided voluntary services. The staff deputed by the private agency worked under his supervision during the counting process and presented the final tally before him.Anukalp Mishra: This counting agent used to be at the fore front of the process. He was among the senior agents believed to be close to some temple trust office-bearers as well. The agency hired many youths on the recommendation of senior trust functionaries. Anukalp is touted to be one such.Lavkush Mishra: Related to Anukalp, Lavkush’s role was found dubious during the movement of bundles of notes from one location to the other.Avinash Shukla: He was involved in cash reconciliation during the counting rounds.Manish Kumar Yadav: He is Tinnu’s relative and was found active in locations where anomalies were detected. He joined in the last six months.Karunesh Pandey: He was instrumental in generating donation receipts manually and allegedly helped others in the fraud.Ramashankar Mishra: He, too, issued donation receipts and allegedly participated in illegal activities.You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Lucknow | Silver Rate in Lucknow | Bank Holidays in Lucknow | Public Holidays in Lucknow | Lucknow AQI | Weather in Lucknow | Petrol Price in Lucknow | Diesel Price in Lucknow | CNG Price in Lucknow | LPG Price in LucknowStay updated with the latest Lucknow news. Download the TOI App.