Ram Temple Donation Probe Widens: Police Seek Custody of Eight Accused

Ayodhya Police, investigating the alleged theft and embezzlement of funds donated to the Ram Temple, are planning to seek custody of eight arrested individuals for questioning. This comes after the seizure of documents and other material evidence from their residences.

Police have expanded the investigation to determine whether any of the accused or their relatives recently acquired properties or vehicles, as they attempt to trace the stolen money and valuables. Bank accounts of the accused, their close associates, and family members are also under scrutiny.

In a related development, police plan to question the owner and director of a Varanasi-based company hired by the State Bank of India to count the donation cash.

Eight individuals have been arrested so far: Avinash Shukla, Lavkush Mishra, Anukalp Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Ram Shankar Yadav (also known as Tinnu Yadav), and Subhash Srivastav. On Monday, a local court remanded them to 14-day judicial custody.

According to a Press Trust of India report, cash recoveries from the accused include Rs 20.39 lakh from Avinash Shukla, Rs 18.07 lakh from Karunesh Pandey, Rs 16.82 lakh from Anukalp Mishra, Rs 14.25 lakh from Lavkush Mishra, Rs 7.32 lakh from Ramashankar Mishra, and Rs 1 lakh from Ram Shankar Yadav. Additionally, approximately 11 grams of gold, 375 grams of silver, and USD 1,121 were recovered.

Families of the accused maintain their relatives have been wrongly implicated. They told media that the arrested men had no sudden or unexplained increase in wealth. Tinnu Yadav's nephew, Raj Kumar Yadav, dismissed the allegations as “false propaganda,” saying, “To the best of my knowledge, the last property my maternal uncle purchased was a hostel in 2008. I have no information about the rest. The police are investigating the matter, and I hope everything will become clear.”

Police searched the homes of all eight accused on Sunday and returned to the residences of Lavkush Mishra and Anukalp Mishra on Wednesday to record statements of family members and question them about seized documents. A senior police officer stated that relatives could not provide significant information about the recovered material, the movements of the accused, or their alleged association with others. “In view of the evidence being examined and the information still being verified, we are planning to seek police custody remand of all eight accused so they can be questioned in detail,” the officer said.

The officer added that custody remand would allow police to confront the accused with evidence and cross-examine them. On Tuesday, police questioned Avinash Shukla inside the jail after obtaining court permission.

All eight accused are being held at Ayodhya district jail under heightened security arrangements. In another development, police recovered a donation box labeled “Ramrajya Kosh” with a Paytm QR code from a yoga centre where Avinash Shukla had been residing.