SIT details shocking lapses in Ram temple scandal; Rs 80L recovered from arrested

The alleged embezzlement at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, has spiralled into a major controversy, with a special investigation team (SIT) probe uncovering serious lapses in the shrine's donation management and eight people — linked to cash and valuables counting — arrested. Here's what the investigation has revealed so far: the full scale of how donations were siphoned remains under probe, but the SIT's preliminary report flags significant irregularities.

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All eight accused have been remanded to judicial custody till Monday (June 29).

Nearly Rs 80L recovered from arrested: Sources

Sources said nearly Rs 80 lakh in cash, along with some foreign currency, has been recovered from six of the eight arrested. Among the accused is Ramashankar Yadav — alias Tinnu Yadav, former driver of Champat Rai, who stepped down as the general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust that manages the shrine, reportedly on moral grounds. Former trust member Anil Mishra also quit.

Yadav is said to have held keys to multiple ‘hundis’ donation boxes, in clear violation of established rules.

Trust receives resignations by Champat Rai, Anil Mishra

On Saturday (June 27), a statement from the temple trust, issued by its treasurer Govind Dev Giri, confirmed that the trust has received the resignations of Rai and Mishra and will take a decision on them at its next meeting on July 11.

The trust also said that they are shocked, hurt and deeply saddened by the recent developments and are duty-bound to ensure that a fair inquiry is conducted and the faith of devotees is restored.

The SIT, meanwhile, reported some major lapses in its preliminary findings. Sources cited the report to say that standard operating procedures (SOPs), including deployment of a security guard during a counting process, frisking of personnel while entering and leaving the counting room, and preserving CCTV footage of the donation-counting process for 180 days, were not followed. They also pointed out Yadav holding keys to several of the donation boxes as another instance of violation of the norms.

According to one source, “Many ‘hundis’ were there. So cash received in those hundis whose keys were with Tinnu was swindled, apparently due to laxity in implementing the SOPs. The exact modus operandi is still being established.”

SOPs were violated

The SOPs — drawn up in 2025 after trust officials sensed irregularities — required counting staff to wear pocket-free clothing, undergo regular frisking and submit to random checks, with a security agency deployed for oversight. Signed off by Mishra, and the State Bank of India’s Govind Mishra, none of these norms was followed, sources said.

The SIT also found CCTV footage retained for just 45 days instead of 180, and that counting in-charge Subhash Srivastava, a former bank employee and one of the accused, was appointed on the recommendation of a senior trust functionary.

How operations were carried out

Emerging details have revealed how the mission was carried out. One staff member stepped in front of the CCTV camera, while an accomplice quietly pocketed cash from the counting table, NDTV reported.

Suspicion first arose when trust officials noticed a shortfall while reviewing bank deposits — specifically in bundles of Rs 500 notes pulled from donation boxes that typically held Rs 6-7 lakh each. Hidden cameras were then installed in the counting room, and what they captured was shocking.

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The footage revealed a two-pronged operation. In one method, a staffer would block the CCTV camera while an accomplice concealed cash in their clothing. In another, extra notes were slipped into bundles during counting — later removed before the cash reached the bank, ensuring the final tally matched the voucher while money quietly disappeared.

The stolen cash was allegedly first stashed in temple bathrooms before being smuggled out and divided elsewhere. Sources say the racket ran from the day the temple opened in 2024, with the SIT's interim report identifying at least 70 theft incidents recorded between April 27 and June 5 this year.

Mahipal Singh raised alarm first

The alleged irregularities were first flagged by Mahipal Singh, a former supervisor of the trust’s accounts team and now being called the whistleblower.

He claimed he was removed after raising internal concerns about the handling of cash offerings and precious metals. He refused to speak when BBC approached him, citing death threats and intense pressure.

Akhilesh Yadav spoke out

The issue gained major political traction when Akhilesh Yadav, the chief of the Samajwadi Party, which is in opposition in UP, publicly sought on June 7 a probe into the alleged theft of funds.

Champat Rai initially ruled out Akhilesh’s claims, saying “nothing noteworthy has come to light during the internal audit”.

But as the outrage and pressure snowballed, the state’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government had to bend. While the government first tried to downplay the incident, calling it the trust’s “internal”, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath eventually formed the SIT on June 13, comprising high-ranked officials.

The sources said that given the nature of its findings, a major “overhaul” of the Ram temple management set-up was in the offing.

Details found in less than a week

They told news agency PTI that it took the probe team in just six days to unearth the details of alleged mismanagement, donation embezzlement, glaring lapses and blatant neglect in managing the temple’s affairs of the temple. The findings were part of its preliminary report which was submitted to the government on June 23.

Also read: How Ayodhya Ram temple donation row put faith and transparency to test

Soon after, a first information report was filed and the eight accused, Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, besides Srivastava and Yadav, were arrested.

According to the police, Yadav employed Manish Kumar, his kin, at the temple's cash-counting unit.

“Though the probe is still underway, you would have noticed the speed with which action followed after the trust, given the enormity of the SIT's preliminary findings, was forced to register an FIR,” the source said, according to PTI.

“After the controversy broke out and just before the SIT was constituted, Rs 2.5 lakh was recovered from a washroom near the donation counting room,” it added.

Since its grand inauguration on January 22, 2024, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi — and especially during the Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj — the Ram temple has seen a massive surge in footfall, drawing enormous collections of cash and precious offerings.

Political row erupts

A massive political controversy erupted over the issue, with CM Adityanath crossing swords with the opposition. The Congress on Friday (June 26) demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe and the dissolution of the temple trust.

It lashed out at the BJP-RSS combine, saying the “self-proclaimed protectors of Hinduism” were completely exposed by the theft incident.

Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said that after using Ayodhya for their divisive politics, the BJP-RSS “looted” the donations of ordinary devotees and made a complete mockery of their sentiments.

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Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal said cash worth about Rs 200 crore might have been stolen, besides diamonds and jewels offered to Lord Ram. “Someone had donated 200 kg of silver, and that was also stolen. The kind of news that is coming out about the Shri Ram Temple deeply hurts my heart,” he said, before heading to the Ayodhya temple on Friday.

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Sanjay Raut even accused the BJP of using the donation money from the temple to poach MPs from opposition parties such as the Trinamool Congress and the Sena (UBT).

Adityanath also lashed out at the opposition, asking it not to cast an evil eye on the temple and submit evidence if they had it.

UP goes to the Assembly polls early next year.

(With agency inputs)