Ayodhya, July 8: The investigation into the alleged Ram Mandir donation theft case intensified on Wednesday as Ayodhya Police detained and questioned jailed accused Anukalp Mishra and his uncle, a jeweller from Inayatnagar market, police sources said.

According to sources, Anukalp Mishra and his uncle Ramendra Mishra, the jeweller, were questioned over their alleged links to the suspected misappropriation of donations collected at the Ram Temple.

Earlier in the day, police took three accused—Lavkush Mishra, Anukalp Mishra and Karunesh Pandey—from the Ayodhya District Jail for custodial interrogation after a local court granted one day of police custody.

The trio was brought to the Ayodhya Police Lines, where investigators questioned them as part of the ongoing probe into the alleged embezzlement of temple donations.

On Tuesday, the Ayodhya court approved one-day police custody after investigators argued that custodial interrogation was essential to uncover additional facts in the case. Police had initially sought seven days of custody for the accused, who remain in judicial custody.

The custody request followed an earlier round of questioning inside the district jail on Sunday, during which five accused were interrogated. Based on information gathered during those interviews, investigators sought further custodial questioning of three suspects.

The case gained prominence after a Special Investigation Team (SIT), in its preliminary report submitted to the Uttar Pradesh government, reportedly found prima facie evidence of theft and pilferage during the counting of donations at the Ram Temple.

Meanwhile, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has decided not to invite Gopal Rao, also known as Gopal Nagarkatte, to its future meetings. The decision was announced on Tuesday by Mahant Kamal Nayan Das, successor to Trust President Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, following a high-level Trust meeting in Ayodhya.