Wedding expenses, car purchase among Rs 19 lakh spending disclosed by Ram Temple donation theft accused

Police probing the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram Temple have uncovered fresh financial leads after accused Avinash Shukla allegedly disclosed details of an additional Rs 19 lakh in spending during custodial interrogation, according to a report by The Times of India.

As per the report, Shukla was taken out of jail on custody and questioned at the Reserve Police Lines in Ayodhya. During the interrogation, he allegedly told investigators that a significant portion of the money had been distributed among family members and friends or spent on personal purchases.

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According to the report, investigators found that Shukla allegedly spent around Rs 6 lakh on the wedding celebrations of one of his brothers and gave another brother Rs 5-6 lakh. Police also recovered a car worth about Rs 3.5 lakh that he had allegedly purchased using the funds.

Shukla also allegedly transferred around Rs 2.5 lakh to a friend and gifted the same person an expensive mobile phone. Smaller amounts were allegedly distributed among several other individuals.

Police have questioned two of Shukla’s brothers and seized documents related to the investigation, TOI reported. Officials are also examining land purchased in 2024 in the name of his brother Abhishek Shukla and scrutinising bank accounts that allegedly received transferred funds. Legal proceedings have been initiated to recover the money routed to different individuals.

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Earlier, police had recovered Rs 20.39 lakh in cash, 1,121 US dollars, gold jewellery, silver ornaments, other valuables and an SUV from Shukla’s possession, according to the report.

It was further reported that Abhishek Shukla had once questioned co-accused Anukalp Mishra about the source of the money, but Mishra allegedly gave an evasive reply and warned him against pursuing the matter further.

With inputs from TOI