LUCKNOW: As a part of the ongoing investigations into the alleged misappropriation of Ram temple donation funds, Ayodhya police questioned Avinash Shukla inside the district jail on Tuesday after obtaining permission from the designated court.
The sources claimed that Investigating Officer and Ayodhya Circle Officer Ashutosh Tiwari had moved an application before the court seeking permission to interrogate Shukla in judicial custody.
After the court allowed the request, Tiwari visited the jail and questioned the accused in connection with the alleged embezzlement of Ram Janmabhoomi temple donations.
According to the probe, Shukla was involved in the cash reconciliation process carried out after each counting round and is believed to have participated actively in the alleged misappropriation.
According to the sources, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust office-bearers had recovered Rs 20 lakh from Shukla’s residence on June 5.
Shukla is among the eight accused currently lodged in the Ayodhya district jail under judicial custody.
As per the sources, investigators suspect that Shukla played a significant role in alleged fraud during the counting of temple donation money.
The sources claimed that on getting an inkling of the embezzlement, the temple trust office-bearers, along with Ayodhya police, had started action in a concealed manner and had raided Avinash Shukla’s residence on June 5.
He was also questioned after cops recovered CCTV footage recorded on June 5 showing men clad in khaki and officials of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust raiding the residence of accused Avinash Shukla following an internal probe.
The footage purportedly captures Shukla being escorted by police while carrying a black bag, which investigators claim contained part of the allegedly stolen donation money.
Police said the questioning was aimed at corroborating statements recorded from other accused and witnesses, as well as verifying documents and electronic evidence collected during the investigation.
The sources said that the action was kept concealed in order to find other culprits involved in the misappropriation without letting them become cautious about it.
Police also noticed that he routinely positioned himself in front of CCTV cameras during the counting process, a detail now under investigation.
Police said the seven others arrested would also be questioned during the course of the investigation into the case.
The investigation has entered a critical financial audit phase, with Ayodhya Police seeking five years of banking records from seven banks where the eight arrested accused and the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust maintain accounts.
Police sources said investigators have sought detailed account statements, transaction histories, KYC documents, deposit records and other banking details to reconstruct the financial trail and identify any suspicious movement of funds linked to the alleged diversion of devotees' offerings.
The exercise is aimed at establishing whether there were unusual cash deposits, withdrawals or inter-account transfers during the period when the accused were associated with the temple's donation management system, a source familiar with the investigation said.
As part of the probe, a police team visited the State Bank of India's Ayodhya Dham branch, where the Trust's principal donation account is maintained, to collect banking records and procedural documents.
Teams also visited six other banks to obtain records related to accounts allegedly held by the accused.
Investigators are scrutinising deposit slips, account statements and transaction details to verify whether the amounts deposited in the Trust's accounts correspond with donations received and recorded by the temple administration.
According to sources, police are gathering records from banks where the accused are believed to have maintained personal or salary accounts.
The objective is to compare transactions across all accounts and determine whether any funds allegedly siphoned from temple donations were routed through the banking system.
Police authorities believe that examining the financial history of both the accused and the Trust over the past five years could help identify discrepancies, establish the alleged money trail and determine whether the suspected embezzlement was part of a larger and sustained operation.
Investigators are also expected to cross-reference banking records with CCTV footage, digital evidence, attendance records, cash-deposit registers and other documentary material seized during the investigation.