Ram Mandir donation theft: Cash, gold, car recovered; bank accounts frozen

Police Thursday conducted searches at the Ayodhya residences of three arrested accused and recovered cash and valuables. They also widened the financial probe by freezing 15 bank accounts of relatives of the accused.

They also took accused Anukalp Mishra to his residence around 9am and carried out the search for 20 minutes and questioned his family members. Similar searches were conducted at the residences of accused Lavkush Mishra and Karunesh Pandey, who were also taken to their homes for evidence collection.

Sources said the searches led to the recovery of cash bundles, gold ornaments, including earrings and pendants, and a car. While police did not state the exact amount of cash recovered, sources put the figure at Rs 1.5 lakh. It is also not known yet who the seized car belongs to.

Police froze 15 bank accounts linked to relatives of the arrested accused after detecting transactions disproportionate to their known sources of income. Investigators are scrutinising these accounts to trace the trail of the stolen donation money.

Sources said Anukalp told police during questioning that he and co-accused Avinash invested the stolen donation money in the stock market, lent money to people on interest, and routed funds through relatives and close associates before getting the money transferred back to their bank accounts to conceal the money trail. Police are verifying these claims.

Police Wednesday took Karunesh, Anukalp and Lavkush into custody remand after court nod. So far, eight accused have been arrested for the alleged donation theft and investigators are examining the financial records, bank transactions, investments and assets to determine the extent of the embezzlement and identify any wider network involved.