Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 17 (ANI): A court on Friday granted 39 hours of police remand for Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav and Manish Yadav in the Ram Mandir donation embezzlement case.
The two accused are expected to be taken out of jail by the police on Saturday for interrogation as part of the ongoing investigation.
Earlier in the day, the Ayodhya Police had moved a local court seeking a seven-day police remand for two accused, Tinnu Yadav and Manish Yadav.
The police, while submitting their plea, emphasised that custodial interrogation of the duo is essential to delve deeper into the matter.
“The police told the court that custodial interrogation is crucial to uncover the conspiracy, trace the money trail, and recover further evidence,” stated the Ayodhya Police.
On Wednesday, two more accused arrested in connection with the alleged embezzlement of donations meant for the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple were taken from the District Jail in Ayodhya after a court granted the police a 14-hour remand for custodial interrogation.
The accused have been identified as Subhash Chandra Srivastava, a retired bank employee who supervised the temple’s cash-counting operations, and Ramashankar Mishra.
Police officials escorted the duo from the jail to conduct day-long questioning as part of the investigation into the alleged misappropriation of temple donations.
So far, the police have interrogated four other accused, Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra and Karunesh Pandey, during their police custody remand.
Ayodhya court had extended the judicial custody of all eight accused in the Ram Mandir donation embezzlement case by 14 days on Monday. The accused appeared before the court through video conferencing and are scheduled to appear again on July 27.
The alleged embezzlement has triggered a heated political row in Uttar Pradesh, with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) continuing its probe into the irregularities. (ANI)