Ayodhya: Police Request Seven-Day Custody of Two Suspects in Ram Temple Donation Theft Investigation

The Ayodhya Police have approached a local court requesting a seven-day custodial remand for two suspects, Tinnu Yadav and Manish Yadav, who are accused in the alleged theft of donations collected at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple. According to the police, questioning the accused in custody is necessary to uncover the full extent of the alleged conspiracy, track the movement of the stolen funds, identify any additional individuals involved, and gather crucial evidence.

Two other accused in the case—Subhash Chandra Srivastava, a retired bank official who supervised the temple's cash-counting process, and Ramashankar Mishra—were taken from the Ayodhya District Jail after a court granted police a 14-hour remand for interrogation. Investigators questioned both men throughout the day as part of the ongoing inquiry into the suspected misuse of temple donations.

Police have already interrogated four other accused during earlier custody remands: Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, and Karunesh Pandey. On Monday, an Ayodhya court extended the judicial custody of all eight accused by another 14 days. The accused appeared before the court via video conference and are scheduled to be produced again on July 27.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case is expected to submit its final report to the Uttar Pradesh government within the next one or two days, according to sources. Officials indicated that no further extension of the investigation is likely after the SIT received an additional 15 days on July 1 to broaden its probe and complete a detailed examination of the allegations. The SIT's preliminary findings reportedly identified around 70 suspicious incidents captured on CCTV footage between April 27 and June 5, 2026. The footage allegedly shows some cash-counting staff concealing bundles of currency during the counting process.

The initial report also highlighted several procedural weaknesses that may have enabled the alleged embezzlement. These included the absence of frisking at entry and exit points, inadequate monitoring of employees' personal belongings, and the practice of combining cash from multiple donation boxes during counting.

Investigators have reportedly recovered nearly ₹78.94 lakh from certain employees before the formal investigation began. In addition, around ₹2.25 lakh was allegedly found in a bathroom adjoining the cash-counting room on June 4, 2026. The preliminary report further noted that investigators found no evidence to support social media claims alleging that silver bricks or other valuable offerings had gone missing from the temple.