The IO had sought custody of the three accused —  Luvkush Mishra, Anukalp Mishra and Karunesh Pandey — to recover concealed cash, jewellery, and documents related to investments in property and other assets from their hideouts, it is learnt. The request was based on the disclosures made by the accused during questioning inside the jail last week with the court’s permission.

The police team, led by Deputy SP Ashutosh Tiwari, the Investigating Officer in the case, searched multiple locations in Ayodhya and two adjoining districts as identified by the accused. The premises were allegedly owned by their close associates.  While the recovered cash and jewellery recovered are yet to be valued, sources said they are not believed to be substantial. However, the value of the investments could be significant, though experts are yet to assess the documents.

During the interrogation, the three accused also admitted to being close to the former Ram Temple trustee Anil Mishra but did not implicate him in the alleged theft, sources added.  Police are now expected to seek custody of the remaining four accused – Tinnu Yadav, his nephew Manish Kumar Yadav, Subhash Srivastav and Ramashankar Mishra.

Police had arrested the eight persons last month and were sent to judicial custody.