Ayodhya, Jul 8: Three accused lodged in jail in connection with the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple here were taken into police custody on Wednesday after a local court granted a 24-hour remand for further interrogation, official sources said.
Investigating Officer and Circle Officer (Ayodhya) Ashutosh Tiwari took Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra and Karunesh Pandey into custody from the district jail at around 7 am on Wednesday, following which they taken for questioning, the sources said.
The police custody remand commenced in accordance with the order passed by the Special Court (Anti-Corruption) on Tuesday.
According to sources, the accused will be interrogated on fresh evidence that has emerged during the investigation. Police are also expected to conduct searches at locations identified by the accused in an effort to recover cash and other articles allegedly linked to the case.
The prosecution had sought the remand to confront the three accused with material and evidence gathered during the questioning of the other arrested persons in the case.
Avinash Shukla, whom the SIT has identified as the prime accused in the alleged racket, was the first accused to be taken on police remand earlier during the investigation.
Meanwhile, Gopal Nagarakatte alias Gopal Rao, who was removed as the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust’s administrator and as a specially invited member of the Trust, vacated his accommodation in the temple complex and shifted to Karsevak Puram on Wednesday, temple sources said.
They said Rao surrendered the car pass issued to him for unrestricted entry into the temple complex.
He also met Trust’s treasurer Govind Dev Giri at the Trust office during the day.
Rao had overseen construction work at the temple and was later associated with its management.
On Tuesday, the Ram temple Trust said former general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra were no longer members after their resignations were accepted at the Trust’s meeting on Monday.
Following the resignations of Rai and Mishra, Treasurer Govind Dev Giri confirmed that the Trust has also decided to remove Gopal Rao from the list of specially invited members.
Eight people have been arrested in connection with the alleged theft of donations from the Ayodhya Ram temple. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government is separately probing the case.
According to its preliminary findings, investigators have identified nearly 70 suspected instances of theft over a 40-day period and are examining the role of the accused as well as alleged procedural and security lapses in the temple’s donation-counting system. (PTI)
