The controversy surrounding alleged irregularities in donations received at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya intensified on Friday after Uttar Pradesh Police arrested eight individuals linked to the temple's donation management system, recovered nearly ₹80 lakh in cash, and two prominent members of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust stepped down amid mounting scrutiny.
The latest developments indicate a major step-up in the inquiry into the claims of embezzlement of the offerings made by devotees at the Ram Temple, which is one of the most prestigious temples in India.
As per sources, the eight persons, who include Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu, believed to be close to trust general secretary Champat Rai, have been detained following the filing of an initial report by a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which claimed that there were discrepancies in the process of managing the offerings as evidenced by financial, documentary, and digital data.
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Champat Rai has reportedly quit his post of general secretary of the trust on 'moral grounds'. Another member of the trust, Anil Mishra, has also allegedly resigned. There was no official confirmation from the trust till the time of publishing.
SIT probe leads to arrests, cash recovery
The case was registered under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to criminal breach of trust, cheating, theft and criminal conspiracy, along with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Ayodhya prosecution officer KC Verma confirmed that all eight accused were produced before a special anti-corruption court, which remanded them to judicial custody till Monday.
Police officials said ₹79.85 lakh in cash was recovered from seven of the accused during searches conducted following the arrests. Investigators are now expected to seek custody of the accused to trace the alleged money trail and recover additional evidence.
The FIR names Ram Shankar Yadav, Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Subhash Srivastava, Ramashankar Mishra, Manish Yadav and Karunesh Pandey. According to officials familiar with the probe, some of the accused are related to each other and linked to individuals associated with the temple administration.
The controversy first surfaced on June 7 when Samajwadi Party leader Tej Narayan "Pawan" Pandey alleged that donations worth between ₹5 crore and ₹7.5 crore had been siphoned off from temple offerings.
Following the allegations, the Uttar Pradesh government constituted a three-member SIT on June 13 after the temple trust itself sought an investigation.
The SIT reportedly examined the entire donation collection and management process, including donation boxes, counting procedures, storage facilities, accounting records, access controls and CCTV footage, before identifying what officials described as prima facie irregularities.
Political row intensifies
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said action was initiated immediately after the preliminary SIT report was submitted.
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"I had stated that action would be taken once the SIT report arrived. The report is in, and action has commenced. The government will not tolerate anyone playing with the faith of the people," Adityanath said at a public meeting in Deoria. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav demanded a thorough investigation and strict action against those responsible.
On the other hand, Vishwaprasanna Tirtha Swamiji, who is a trust member, said that if the charges are true, then the concerned person needs to be punished.
Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which was set up by the Central government after the 2019 verdict of the Supreme Court in the Ayodhya issue, had claimed that it got donations worth ₹82.78 crore from April 2025 to February 2026. This issue is likely to come up for discussion when the trust meets on July 11.
FAQs
Q1. Why did the arrests happen in Ram Temple donation case?
These eight people were arrested after a Special Investigation Team had found prima facie proof regarding some irregularities in the collection, counting, and management of donations collected at the Ram Temple.
Q2. Why did Champat Rai leave the Ram Temple Trust?
As per sources, Champat Rai quit the trust on moral grounds to ensure that the case gets a fair probe.
