Rai, along with trustee Anil Mishra, resigned from their respective posts in the wake of the alleged scam.
SIT seeks details of donation management
According to an NDTV report, the SIT sought a detailed explanation of the temple trust's donation management process during its interrogation of Rai.
Rai reportedly denied any involvement in the alleged theft and maintained that the arrests made in the case were based on complaints filed by him.
'Acted immediately after scam surfaced'
Rai told investigators that it was his responsibility to ensure transparency and prevent irregularities in the collection and handling of donations.
He said he acted promptly after the alleged scam came to light, leading to the filing of complaints and subsequent arrests, the report added.
Eight named in FIR
Those named in the FIR are Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu, according to an NDTV report.
Ram Shankar Yadav, also known as Tinnu Yadav, is the former driver of the Trust's General Secretary, Champat Rai.
According to police, the accused were involved in counting cash donations and valuables offered by devotees at the temple.
They have been arrested, and further interrogation is underway.
How the controversy unfolded
The issue first gained political attention after the Samajwadi Party alleged irregularities in the management of donations received at the Ram Mandir.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav claimed that crores of rupees from devotees' offerings were going missing and demanded a judicial probe into the matter. He also questioned the silence of both the Trust and the Uttar Pradesh government over the allegations.
At the time, the BJP rejected the accusations, calling them politically motivated.