India, July 3 -- A three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) returned to Ayodhya on Thursday and questioned three key Ram Temple Trust functionaries, Champat Rai, Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao, for six hours even as deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya appeared to defend Rai and more arrests in the row seemed imminent.

The developments came on a day the Ayodhya police obtained the first police custody remand of an accused in the donation row. The court of additional district judge (Anti-Corruption) Rajat Varma granted 24-hour police custody remand of Avinash Shukla, from whose house Rs.20.40 lakh cash was recovered by the police earlier this month.

According to people familiar with the matter, the Ayodhya police sought Avinash Shu...