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Saying that the alleged embezzlement of funds of Ram Mandir has shocked "crores of Ram devotees", Biju Janata Dal (BJD) vice president and MLA Prasanna Acharya has called for a high-level probe into the allegations, saying that the matter should not be "left to the temple trust alone".
Speaking to ANI, Acharya said on Saturday that the reported irregularities had hurt the sentiments of crores of devotees who had contributed towards the construction of the Ram Temple. "The Ayodhya issue has saddened the whole country, and crores of Ram devotees are shocked and the whole country is surprised. How could this happen? When the Ram temple construction started, crores of people donated, crores of rupees were collected. Neither the trust nor the government filed an FIR with the police. Subsequently, the inquiry has started and recently another scandal has come out in the Badrinath Temple. So what is happening in this country? You are playing with the sentiment, with the devotion of the crores of people of India," he said. The BJD leader said the matter should not be handled only by the temple trust and urged the government to intervene. "The matter should not be left to the temple trust only. Government should intervene, and a high-level inquiry should be conducted into it," Acharya added. On July 3, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram Temple arrived at the temple premises to carry out further investigation in the case. The state government on July 1 granted a 15-day extension to SIT to complete its investigation. The extension has been given to enable the SIT to widen the scope of its probe and conduct a comprehensive inquiry into all aspects of the case. An FIR was registered on June 25 after the SIT submitted the preliminary report on June 23, and eight accused were arrested. Subsequently, Champat Rai and former trustee Anil Mishra resigned, taking moral responsibility for alleged misappropriation of donations at the Ayodhya Ram Temple hours after police arrested all eight people named in the FIR. The alleged embezzlement of donations for the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir has also triggered a massive political storm, with the opposition launching a scathing attack on the ruling BJP, while the government maintains that a transparent probe is underway. Ayodhya Police is likely to interrogate the accused currently in custody on Sunday. (ANI)
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