Ayodhya: The accused in the alleged Ram temple donation theft case used forged receipts to collect money from devotees, police said on Wednesday as the investigation gathered pace.
Police on Wednesday took three accused — Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra and Karunesh Pandey — into custody for questioning after a local court granted their remand.
During interrogation, police recovered an old forged receipt book resembling the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust's earlier donation receipts, sources said.
According to the sources, the three accused told investigators that they, along with another accused, Tinnu Yadav, had initially used the fake receipts to collect donations from devotees visiting the temple.
The forged receipts closely resembled the original ones and carried the logo of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, making them difficult for devotees to identify as fake. The accused allegedly stopped using the receipt book after the Trust switched to an online receipt system.
A week ago, police seized a donation box labelled "Ramrajya Kosh", bearing an active QR code for digital payments, from a yoga centre in Ayodhya where the prime accused, Avinash Shukla, had allegedly been staying for the past 10 years.
As part of the investigation, police took the three accused to the Jaura area along the 14-kosi parikrama route, where investigators suspect stolen cash was counted and distributed.
Police also conducted searches in Ayodhya's Milkipur area, including premises linked to Anukalp Mishra's relatives, a jewellery trader and a building material dealer in Inayatnagar.
Investigators are examining whether payments for properties or goods allegedly purchased by the accused were made in cash or through digital transactions, sources added.
Separately, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has begun scrutinising bills and vouchers related to major expenditures of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
Eight people have been arrested in connection with the alleged donation theft case so far.
The SIT's preliminary findings have identified nearly 70 suspected instances of theft over a period of 40 days. Investigators are examining the role of each accused, along with the alleged procedural and security lapses in the temple's donation-counting system.
