An Ayodhya local court on Tuesday granted a one-day police remand for three of the eight accused arrested in connection with the alleged theft of donations from the Ram temple, according to police sources. The court authorized the remand for Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, and Karunesh Pandey.
Background of the Case
On June 29, the same court had sent all eight accused to 14 days of judicial custody. The prosecution argued that custodial interrogation of the three individuals was necessary to confront them with new evidence gathered from questioning the other five accused, who were in jail as of July 5. Police informed the court that the questioning yielded fresh leads, prompting the request for custody of the three accused for further investigation.
Court Proceedings
After hearing submissions from both the prosecution and the defense, the court reserved its order on the police plea before allowing the remand application. The accused in the case are Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Rama Shankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava, and Rama Shankar alias Tinnu.
Recoveries and Investigation
Police have reported recoveries exceeding Rs 79 lakh from the accused, with the exception of Subhash Srivastava, who remains under suspicion as part of the conspiracy. Investigators are probing whether the alleged theft of donations was an isolated act by temple staff or part of a wider conspiracy involving other individuals.
