Ram temple donations 'embezzlement': Police seek custodial remand of 2 accused

Ayodhya (UP), Jul 11 (PTI) Police probing alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya have sought a seven-day custody of two jailed accused, Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu and Subhash Srivastava, saying fresh disclosures made during the investigation require further verification and recovery of evidence. The remand application has been moved before the special judge of an Anti-Corruption Court by the special public prosecutor on the request of the investigating officer, Ashutosh Tiwari. The court has fixed July 14 for hearing the plea. According to the prosecution, statements made by the two accused during the probe have led to fresh leads, making their custodial interrogation necessary to verify the new facts and recover evidence linked to the alleged diversion of temple donations. Yadav, a former driver of Champat Rai, was in charge of the keys of the donation boxes, while Srivastava, a former bank employee, was involved in overseeing the donation-counting process. Rai resigned as the general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust in the wake of the controversy. The investigating officer also produced before the court articles seized during the earlier police custody of accused Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra and Karunesh Pandey. After examining the seized material, the court directed that it be taken on record as part of the investigation. Investigators are scrutinising financial transactions, recent investments and property purchases by the arrested accused and their relatives to establish the money trail behind the alleged embezzlement. Earlier this month, police obtained the custodial remand of accused Avinash Shukla and subsequently, seized a car and jewellery and identified the location where the "stolen" donation money was distributed, according to the investigators. Subsequently, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra and Karunesh Pandey were questioned during their police remand. Eight people, including trust employees associated with the temple's donation-counting process, have been arrested in the case. The arrested accused are -- Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu. Meanwhile, the Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA) has received a reply to a notice issued by it over an under-construction building linked to Lavkush Mishra in Banwaripur. ADA officials said the documents submitted by the party concerned are being examined and further action will be taken in accordance with the law. The authority had issued the notice alleging that the building was being constructed without an approved map. The Uttar Pradesh government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged embezzlement, identify systemic lapses in the handling of temple donations and establish the flow of the "diverted" funds. Following the detection of the alleged fraud, the trust has tightened security and strengthened the donation-counting process with enhanced surveillance and frisking of the personnel handling offerings. PTI CDN RC