Ayodhya, July 16:
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple had hurt the faith of devotees, but the opposition move to defame Ayodhya and Ram Janmabhoomi was not justified.
“The Ayodhya incident has certainly hurt the faith of all of us, of Ram devotees like us. The Ram temple trust is an independent body and the government has no authority to interfere in its affairs. The trust requested a probe and the state government constituted an SIT. As soon as the SIT report came, action was initiated,” he said.
The chief minister said six people allegedly involved in the theft had been arrested, while two others accused of assisting them had also been taken into custody.
“Along with the arrests, two resignations have also taken place on moral grounds (former Trust general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra).
But using this incident to defame Ayodhya, the Ram Janmabhoomi and the faith of Hindus is not justified,” he said.
The alleged embezzlement of Ram temple donations came to light in the first week of June, following which the Uttar Pradesh government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
Eight persons associated with the temple’s donation-counting process have been arrested in the case so far.