With the Ayodhya donation theft investigation underway, Times Now has accessed the Yoga Kendra, where a portion of the allegedly stolen temple offerings was recovered from accused Avinash Shukla. In an exclusive ground report, Times Now reached the Shyam Sadhana Yoga Kendra, identified by investigators as the location from where cash linked to the theft was recovered.
According to the investigation, the box belonged to the accused Avinash Shukla, who regularly visited the Yoga Kendra along with his brother. Police and Ram Mandir Trust officials reportedly recovered cash from this box during the probe.
The development comes a day after Avinash Shukla was questioned for over two hours inside jail. Investigators claim that during the interrogation, he confessed to his role in the theft of donation money from the Ram Mandir.
‘We were shocked’: Teacher at Yoga Kendra
Speaking exclusively to Times Now, Seema, who manages and teaches yoga at the centre, expressed shock over the allegations. She said neither she nor anyone at the Yoga Kendra had any suspicion that Avinash or his brother Abhishek could be involved in such a crime.
“I have been here for 17 years, and this centre has been here for 22 years. Our Guruji helped Abhishek and several others. Avinash came here 1.5 years ago. We were shocked to know that he used to stay under our noses and did this. We never suspected from his behaviour that he would do this,” she told Times Now.
The Ayodhya Police on Wednesday reached the district jail to question the key accused in the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram Mandir, marking the first round of interrogation since their judicial custody began. The move comes after investigators secured court permission to examine the accused, including Avinash Shukla, inside the jail.
Avinash Shukla, along with Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastav and Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav, has been remanded to 14 days’ judicial custody.
The Ayodhya Police have also recorded the statement of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai, who had resigned from his post on “moral grounds”.