Ayodhya Ram temple (PTI photo)
NEW DELHI: A court on Friday granted 39 hours of police remand for Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav and Manish Yadav in connection with the alleged embezzlement of Ayodhya Ram temple’s donations.The two accused are expected to be taken out of jail on Saturday for custodial interrogation as part of the ongoing investigation into the alleged donation scam, which has sparked a major political row.Earlier, Ayodhya police had sought a seven-day remand for the two accused.”The police told the court that custodial interrogation is crucial to uncover the conspiracy, trace the money trail, and recover further evidence,” Ayodhya Police said.On Wednesday, two other accused in the case — Subhash Chandra Srivastava, a retired bank employee who supervised the temple’s cash-counting operations, and Ramashankar Mishra — were taken from the District Jail in Ayodhya after a court granted the police a 14-hour remand for custodial interrogation.Police officials questioned the duo as part of the probe into the alleged misappropriation of temple donations.So far, investigators have interrogated four other accused — Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra and Karunesh Pandey — during their police custody remand.The alleged embezzlement of donations for the Ram Temple has triggered widespread political backlash, with opposition parties targeting the ruling BJP over the issue.
