Lucknow: Expanding the financial investigation into the alleged Ram temple donation theft, Ayodhya Police has written to authorities in 10 districts to seek details of movable and immovable assets registered in the names of the eight arrested accused and nearly 50 of their relatives.The districts covered in the exercise are Lucknow, Basti, Pratapgarh, Barabanki, Amethi, Sultanpur, Sitapur, Hardoi, Ambedkar Nagar and Prayagraj.Officials in these districts have been asked to examine records of agricultural, residential, commercial and other properties acquired by the accused and their family members over the past two years.Police suspect that money allegedly siphoned from donations may have been diverted into real estate, either directly in the names of the accused or through their relatives. Police are examining the property trail to determine whether the assets are disproportionate to the accused’s known sources of income or were acquired as benami holdings.Revenue department, municipal corporations, and Uttar Pradesh Awas Vikas Parishad have been asked to compile reports at the earliest. Revenue officials are scrutinising land registration records in these 10 districts.The investigation is being supervised by CO Ayodhya Ashutosh Tiwari, who has sought details of all movable and immovable assets acquired by the accused during the past two years, describing the financial trail as a crucial part of the probe.Police have sought records linked to the family members of all eight accused — Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Karunesh Pandey, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Ramshankar Mishra, Ramshankar Yadav and Subhash Srivastava.Authorities have been asked to identify agricultural land, residential houses, commercial establishments, flats and other assets registered in their names.Sources said the reports received from the district administrations are likely to be shared with the income tax department for scrutiny of the accused’s financial profile. Investigators will examine whether the value of assets matches their declared sources of income, and further legal action, including proceedings relating to disproportionate assets, may follow if irregularities are established.
