Police conducted search operations on the homes of all eight accused on Sunday in connection with the alleged embezzlement of offerings and donations at the Ram Temple. During the searches, jewelry and important documents were recovered from the residence of the accused, Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav.
On Friday, all eight accused were sent to three days of judicial custody. They will remain in jail until June 29 and will be produced again before the local court on Monday.
According to police , some cash and property-related documents were also recovered from the house of Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav, who is associated with the temple administration. By Sunday evening, the police are expected to complete an assessment of the items seized from the homes of all the accused to determine exactly what was recovered from each residence.
Afterward, late Sunday night, the investigating officer will decide whether to seek fresh police remand for the accused when they are produced before the court on Monday.
Officials said that some items have been recovered from the homes of all the accused and are currently being examined and verified.
Earlier on Sunday, Tinnu Yadav's neighbor, Tara Devi, described him as her "brother" and expressed confidence in his innocence. She said, "He is a good person. He is being falsely implicated."
Meanwhile, Krishna Nand Tiwari, a neighbor of accused Anukalp Mishra, said, "Whoever is involved in this case, even if it is my own brother (Mishra), whoever committed theft or any wrongdoing should receive the strictest possible punishment. They should be ashamed of their actions because this is a matter related to God. They have betrayed the trust of millions of devotees."
He further added, "However, Anukalp Mishra never seemed like such a person, but it is not easy to judge someone's intentions."
Another neighbor, Anurag, said he had known Mishra for about a year. He said, "He had a good nature. Whenever we met, we greeted each other. Whether he had any ill intentions or not, I do not know."
A case has been registered against a total of eight people in connection with the alleged theft at the temple, and all of them have been arrested. The FIR was registered on Thursday at the Ayodhya Kotwali police station based on a complaint filed by Krishna Mohan, a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
Those named in the case include Ramshankar Yadav, trust employees Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Avinash Shukla, and retired bank employee Subhash Srivastava.
The case was registered after a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), in its preliminary report, pointed to irregularities at multiple levels.
Police say the entire alleged theft will be uncovered through interrogation of the accused and analysis of CCTV footage. If the investigation reveals the involvement of other individuals, action will also be taken against them.
The preliminary investigation has identified different levels of involvement for each accused. In particular, the role of Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav is under special scrutiny by the investigating agencies.
