The ₹1.39 cr seized by special operations group (SOG) at former cricketer Tushar Arothe’s house in Vadodara reportedly came from Rishi Arothe, who was tasked with transferring the amount from Kota’s Swaminarayan Temple to Nashik in Maharashtra.
According to reports, Rishi took away ₹1.39 cr out of ₹2 cr he was supposed to transfer through an Angadia service and sent it to Tushar’s place, where it was seized by the SOG.
Where did the money come from?
The amount was collected at the Swaminarayan Temple in Rajasthan’s Kota during the Shatamrit Mahotsav in Gujarat’s Sarangpur.
The temple authorities wanted it transferred from the Kota temple to a Swaminarayan Temple and Hostel in Nashik.
A friend of the temple’s chartered accountant (CA), Shashank, introduced him to Rishi as a businessman.
Accused gets the amount
Rishi told the CA that such an amount needs to be transferred through Angadia, and he has experience doing that. After that, Rishi was in charge of the transfer.
Rishi reportedly took ₹1.40 crore out of ₹2 cr and sent it to his home. Out of that, deducting the Angadia charges, the SOG seized ₹1.39 cr from senior Arothe.
A Satsangi of Swaminarayan Temple informed the Mahant of Kota Temple upon reading the reports about the SOG raid. The Mahant then went to SOG to file a complaint.
The police are interrogating the CA and people related to the matter.