Daijiworld Media Network - Ayodhya
Ayodhya, Jun 28: Police on Sunday carried out searches at the residences of all eight accused arrested in connection with the alleged misappropriation of donations and offerings collected at the Ram Mandir, as investigators intensified efforts to uncover the full extent of the suspected financial irregularities.
The searches come two days after the accused were remanded to three-day judicial custody by a local court. They are currently lodged in jail and are scheduled to be produced before the court again on Monday after the completion of their remand period.
Residents living near the homes of some of the accused expressed mixed reactions as the investigation progressed.
Krishna Nand Tiwari, a neighbour of accused Anukalp Mishra, said those found guilty of stealing temple donations should face the strictest legal action. He described the alleged offence as a betrayal of the faith of millions of devotees who contribute offerings at the Ram Mandir.
Tiwari added that Mishra had never appeared suspicious in his interactions, saying it is often difficult to judge a person's true intentions.
Another neighbour, Anurag, who said he had known Mishra for nearly a year, described him as courteous and soft-spoken. While acknowledging that the investigation should take its course, he said he had never noticed any behaviour that suggested criminal intent.
Meanwhile, Tara Devi, a neighbour of accused Ramshankar Yadav, alias Tinnu Yadav, claimed that he was innocent and had been falsely implicated in the case. She said Yadav was like a brother to her and remarked that police should conduct searches in the presence of local residents.
The case involves eight individuals accused of allegedly siphoning off donations made by devotees at the Ram Mandir. An FIR was registered at Ayodhya Kotwali police station on Thursday following a complaint lodged by Krishna Mohan, a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
Among those arrested are Ramshankar Yadav, popularly known as Tinnu Yadav, who was associated with temple management, Trust employees Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra and Avinash Shukla, along with retired bank employee Subhash Srivastava.
The criminal case was registered after a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted to examine the handling of temple donations, reportedly identified several procedural and financial irregularities in its preliminary findings.
Police officials said investigators are relying on sustained interrogation of the accused, scrutiny of financial records and analysis of CCTV footage to reconstruct the sequence of events and determine the role played by each individual.
Investigators have indicated that additional arrests are possible if fresh evidence or the names of other suspects emerge during the course of the probe. Officials also said that the preliminary investigation has assigned specific responsibilities to each of the accused, with the alleged role of Ramshankar Yadav, alias Tinnu Yadav, coming under particular scrutiny as the investigation moves forward.