New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Congress unit chief Ajay Rai has been placed under house arrest at an Ayodhya hotel, ahead of a high-level party delegation to the Ram Temple that has been embroiled in an embezzlement and theft scandal.“The BJP’s dictatorial moves know no bounds!” Rai said on X on Monday night, adding that him coming to Ayodhya had “scared” the Adityanath government so much that they had to arrest him.भाजपा सरकार की तानाशाही चरम पर है!उत्तर प्रदेश कांग्रेस का प्रतिनिधिमंडल कल 30 जून को अयोध्या में प्रभु श्री राम के दर्शन-पूजन के लिए जाने वाला था।मैं अयोध्या पहुँचा ही था कि भाजपा सरकार इतनी डर गई कि पुलिस मुझे होटल से गिरफ़्तार कर अपनी जीप में बैठाकर ले जा रहीं है।… pic.twitter.com/hjC9eSPy9r— Ajay Rai🇮🇳 (@kashikirai) June 29, 2026Rai is reportedly still in custody at Hotel Padam Shri Palace.The Congress had earlier said in a statement that a delegation led by Rai and comprising MPs Kishori Lal Sharma, Rakesh Rathor, Ujjwal Raman Singh and Tanuj Punia was going to visit the temple to pay their respects and raise the corruption matter. The party had reportedly informed the local administration about their visit.Former Rajya Sabha MP and senior Congress leader A.P. Gautam too was supposed to join, but was reportedly stopped by the police from leaving his home in Barabanki.Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh: Ahead of the Congress delegation’s proposed visit to Ayodhya, former Rajya Sabha MP and senior Congress leader A.P. Gautam was allegedly stopped by police from leaving his residence in BarabankiFormer Rajya Sabha MP and senior Congress leader A.P.… pic.twitter.com/SYw2xXS9yl— IANS (@ians_india) June 30, 2026The caseAn FIR was filed on June 26 against eight persons at the Ram Janmbhoomi Police Station in Ayodhya in connection with the alleged temple trust fund embezzlement. This FIR, containing charges including theft, criminal breach of trust, cheating and criminal conspiracy, came several days after three different police complaints – including one by a former kar sevak – and after a damning SIT report and public outcry on the matter. All eight accused, from the cash-counting staff, have been remanded to 14-day judicial custody. The case will next be heard on July 13. The Ayodhya Bar Association has said that its lawyers will not be defending any of the accused in the case.Two senior functionaries of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust – general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra – have resigned from their positions, but they have not been named in the FIR. The Trust was set up on the directions of the Supreme Court, and its constitution was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself.The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, of which Rai is a senior functionary, has defended Rai and Mishra, and said that the temple trust itself had been pushing for a fair probe.It has now come to light that the State Bank of India had raised concerns about possible irregularities three months ago, since seven of the eight accused have their primary accounts in the main branch of the SBI in Ayodhya. Police spent four hours taking evidence from bank officials on Monday, Hindustan Times has reported.A bank official told the newspaper that they had informed both the trust authorities and the police when they first noticed the irregularities. “Trust officials allegedly intervened and shielded the staff. Despite the bank’s warning, the trust took no action and the same employees continued to handle the counting work,” the official said.