Ayodhya: The Ayodhya Police Saturday took custody of Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav and his nephew Manish Yadav, the last two accused who are yet to undergo custodial interrogation in the Ram Temple donation theft case.
A special court in Ayodhya Friday had granted the police 39 hours’ custody remand of both the accused.
The duo was taken into custody from the Ayodhya district jail Saturday morning, following which investigators will begin what is expected to be the final phase of custodial questioning before concluding the investigation and filing the chargesheet in the case.
Investigators consider Tinnu Yadav one of the principal accused in the alleged embezzlement. He was regarded as a close associate of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust’s former General Secretary Champat Rai and had reportedly been associated with the temple’s donation management system.
According to the investigation, Tinnu Yadav was responsible for overseeing the temple’s donation boxes, while his nephew Manish Yadav was involved in the counting of offerings.
During searches conducted last month, the police recovered Rs 1 lakh from Tinnu Yadav’s residence and Rs 2 lakh from Manish Yadav’s house.
The court’s order came a day after the Ayodhya police sought seven days of custodial remand, arguing that questioning the uncle-nephew duo was essential for reconstructing the alleged conspiracy and corroborating evidence collected during previous rounds of investigation.
According to officials, the two accused will be confronted with statements made by the six co-accused who have already undergone police custody.
Investigators will also question them regarding financial records, electronic evidence and documents recovered during the course of the investigation.
Police said the interrogation will primarily focus on the alleged diversion of devotees’ donations, the exact role played by the two accused during the cash-counting process, the movement of the allegedly misappropriated funds and the suspected investment of the proceeds in movable and immovable assets.
The case relates to the alleged theft of cash donations from the strong room of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya.
Eight people, most of whom were associated with the temple’s cash-counting process through outsourced agencies, have been arrested in connection with the alleged embezzlement.
Police have already completed custodial interrogation of the remaining six accused during multiple phases conducted between July 3 and July 15.
During those rounds of questioning, investigators claimed to have recovered cash, gold ornaments, two sport utility vehicles allegedly purchased using misappropriated donation money, along with documents relating to investments and other assets.
As part of the financial investigation, several bank accounts belonging to the accused and their family members have also been frozen.
Officials said the custodial interrogation of Tinnu Yadav and Manish Yadav is expected to play a crucial role in verifying the alleged money trail, establishing the sequence of events surrounding the suspected embezzlement, identifying the specific role of each accused and reconciling the evidence gathered during earlier custodial interrogations before the filing of the final police report.
The criminal investigation is progressing alongside a parallel administrative enquiry being conducted by the Uttar Pradesh government’s Special Investigation Team (SIT), which has already completed its probe into the alleged supervisory failures, security lapses and procedural deficiencies in the temple’s donation management system.
The SIT is expected to submit its final report to the state government after updating the Supreme Court on the current status of the investigation.
