The Ayodhya Police on Saturday began the 39-hour custodial interrogation of key accused Ram Shankar Yadav alias “Tinnu” and his nephew Manish Yadav in connection with the alleged theft of donations from the Ram temple.A police team takes two accused, Ram Shankar Yadav (alias Tinnu Yadav) and Manish Yadav from the district jail for 39-hour police remand in connection with the Ram temple alleged donations embezzlement case, in Ayodhya on Saturday. (ANI VIDEO GRAB)A police team reached the district jail around 8 am on Saturday and took custody of the two accused before shifting them to the police lines for medical formalities and sustained questioning.The police custody remand will continue until 11 pm on Sunday, by which time the investigating team is required to produce both accused before the court and send them back to judicial custody in district jail.As they were escorted out by circle officer Ashutosh Tiwari, both Tinnu and Manish covered their faces with towels in an apparent attempt to avoid media cameras.The custodial interrogation is expected to be one of the most significant phases of the criminal investigation, with investigators seeking to reconstruct the alleged theft, establish how and when cash was siphoned off from the temple’s donation collection system, identify where the money was concealed, and trace the movement and utilisation of the allegedly stolen funds.Police had sought a seven-day custody remand on Friday, arguing that prolonged interrogation was necessary to unravel the conspiracy, recover the remaining proceeds of the crime and identify other beneficiaries. However, the Faizabad court granted a 39-hour police custody remand.According to investigators, Tinnu, considered a close associate of former Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai, supervised the handling of the temple’s donation boxes, while his nephew Manish was involved in counting cash offerings received from devotees.During earlier searches, police recovered ₹1 lakh from Tinnu’s residence and ₹2 lakh from Manish’s house. The duo are among the eight people arrested in the case. Police have already secured the custody remand of the six other accused—Avinash Shukla, Lavkush Mishra, Anukalp Mishra, Subhash Srivastava, Ramashankar Mishra and Karunesh Pandey—and questioned them during earlier phases of the investigation.Sources said investigators are also probing allegations that Tinnu invested a portion of the suspected stolen money in an informal high-interest lending business. During the investigation, police allegedly found that around ₹30-35 lakh had been advanced on interest for the construction of his nephew’s house in the Tulsi Chaura area. Construction of the house has reportedly remained stalled since the donation theft case surfaced.Investigators are also examining claims that another ₹20 lakh was allegedly lent on interest to a businessman. Police are verifying whether these transactions were financed using money allegedly diverted from temple donations.Officials said the custodial interrogation will focus on corroborating financial evidence, confronting the accused with statements of co-accused, tracing the alleged money trail, identifying any undisclosed assets and recovering the remaining proceeds of the alleged embezzlement. Investigators are also expected to examine whether the suspected diversion of temple donations extended beyond the accused already arrested.The criminal investigation is progressing alongside the Uttar Pradesh government’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into alleged procedural lapses, security failures and financial irregularities in the handling of donations at the Ram Temple.Ram Shankar Yadav’s residence is located in the Swarn Dwar locality, around three kilometres from the Ram temple. His three brothers also own houses in the area. His family comprises his wife, Poonam, and son Ravi, a contractual employee with the public works department, who got married about six to seven months ago.Of Tinnu’s three brothers, one, Dinesh, has died. Dinesh’s sons, Manish and Sunny, were allegedly helped by Tinnu in securing jobs at the Ram temple. Manish is now among the eight accused facing investigation in the alleged temple donation theft case.