Ram Mandir Donations Row: Court Allows 39-Hour Police Custody of Tinnu Yadav, Manish Yadav

A local court in Ayodhya on Friday granted 39 hours of police custody to two accused in the Ram Mandir Donations row case, allowing investigators additional time to question them over the alleged conspiracy and trace the money trail.

Court remanded Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav and Manish Yadav to police custody after the prosecution argued that custodial interrogation was necessary to uncover the larger conspiracy behind the alleged diversion of temple donations, identify other persons involved and recover further evidence.

The latest remand comes as the investigation by the Uttar Pradesh government's Special Investigation Team (SIT) enters its final stages. The SIT is expected to submit its report to the state government shortly after completing interrogation of all key accused.

According to investigators, Tinnu Yadav is believed to have played a central role in the alleged embezzlement. Earlier findings of the SIT indicated that he exercised unauthorised control over the keys to the temple's donation boxes despite having no formal approval for the responsibility, a lapse that investigators believe facilitated the alleged theft of donations.

Police told the court that questioning the duo in custody would help verify information gathered during the probe, reconstruct the sequence of events, establish the flow of funds and identify additional evidence linked to the alleged financial irregularities.

The two accused are among eight persons arrested in connection with the case. Over the past two weeks, police have secured separate custody remands for other accused and carried out interrogations as part of the ongoing investigation.

The case pertains to the alleged misappropriation of donations made by devotees at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya. A preliminary SIT inquiry had reportedly identified dozens of suspicious incidents captured on CCTV footage during the cash-counting process. Investigators also pointed to procedural lapses, including inadequate frisking of personnel, weak control over personal belongings inside the counting room and the practice of counting cash from multiple donation boxes together, which allegedly created opportunities for theft.

The investigation has remained under close scrutiny, with the Supreme Court earlier this week directing the SIT to submit a status report on the progress of the probe while seeking responses from the Centre, the Uttar Pradesh government and the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.

[Inputs: TOI]