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SIT set to visit Ayodhya; police to seek custody of eight accused
According to sources, Avinash Shukla, one of the eight accused arrested on June 26, was questioned inside the district jail after investigating officer and Ayodhya circle officer Ashutosh Tiwari obtained permission from the local court. During the interrogation, Shukla was questioned about the alleged diversion of devotees’ donations, the movement of cash and the role of the other accused. Sources said the exercise was aimed at corroborating evidence already collected and identifying further leads before police move the court seeking the custody of all the accused.
After days of hectic investigation into the alleged Ram temple donation embezzlement, police on Tuesday shifted their focus to legal formalities, interrogating one of the arrested accused inside jail and completing paperwork to seek the custody of all eight accused, even as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) is expected to visit Ayodhya anytime soon.
According to sources, Avinash Shukla, one of the eight accused arrested on June 26, was questioned inside the district jail after investigating officer and Ayodhya circle officer Ashutosh Tiwari obtained permission from the local court.
During the interrogation, Shukla was questioned about the alleged diversion of devotees’ donations, the movement of cash and the role of the other accused. Sources said the exercise was aimed at corroborating evidence already collected and identifying further leads before police move the court seeking the custody of all the accused.
The questioning assumes significance as the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust had, according to sources, recovered ₹20 lakh from Shukla on June 5, weeks before the FIR was registered. Though there is no official break-up of the amount recovered from the accused, sources said the largest sum was recovered from Shukla.
Investigators are examining whether the recovered amount represented the entire sum allegedly misappropriated by him or whether additional money remains unaccounted for.
Meanwhile, police officials spent the day completing legal formalities to seek police custody of all eight arrested accused. Sources said investigators believe sustained custodial interrogation is essential to establish the alleged modus operandi, trace the complete financial trail, confront the accused with documentary and electronic evidence and identify any additional persons involved in the conspiracy.
The probe is expected to gather further pace with the likely visit of the SIT to Ayodhya anytime soon. Sources said the team is expected to review the investigation, examine the evidence collected so far and chalk out the next course of action, including financial, forensic and digital analysis of the alleged embezzlement.
All eight accused are currently in 14-day judicial custody. Investigators are expected to move the court shortly seeking police custody, contending that custodial interrogation is crucial to unravelling the full extent of the alleged diversion of devotees’ offerings.
Earlier on Monday, the SIT intensified scrutiny of the financial transactions of the eight arrested accused. A police team visited the State Bank of India’s Ayodhya Dham branch, where seven of the accused maintain accounts, and collected their bank statements. Investigators are analysing deposits and transactions since the accused joined duty at the Ram temple to determine whether any of the allegedly misappropriated money was routed through their personal accounts. Police have also served notices on two SBI employees as part of the investigation.
