Ram temple donation probe finds accused built houses, bought SUVs on modest salaries

Investigators probing the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya have uncovered a sharp mismatch between the known incomes of several accused and the assets they accumulated during their tenure at the temple's donation counting centre, as reported by Times of India.

According to officers familiar with the investigation, many of the accused, whose known monthly earnings ranged between Rs 14,000 and Rs 15,000, had built houses and were using SUVs, prompting investigators to scrutinise the source of their wealth.

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While the report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) is yet to be made public, officials said it documents unexplained asset creation, alleged procedural lapses, ignored warnings and estimates that between Rs 6 lakh and Rs 8 lakh may have been siphoned off from temple donations every day before the fraud came to light.

Among those under investigation is Avinash Shukla, who earlier sold drinking water near Hanuman Gufa in Ayodhya before securing employment at the temple's donation counting centre. Originally from Pratapgarh, Shukla subsequently built a house in Ayodhya. Police on Saturday night seized a Maruti Brezza allegedly owned by him.

Another accused, Lavkush Mishra, purchased a 1,000-square-foot plot in Banipur locality of Ayodhya's Sohawal area on October 16 last year. The registered sale deed values the land at Rs 8.8 lakh. However, local residents told investigators that comparable plots in the area are typically worth between Rs 24 lakh and Rs 25 lakh, raising questions over both valuation and the source of funds. Mishra's wife has also received a notice from the Ayodhya Development Authority seeking documents related to the property.

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Investigators have also identified assets linked to Ramshankar Yadav, alias Tinnu, who allegedly constructed a hostel after previously working as a driver.

The probe has also revealed that concerns over irregularities in donation counting had been raised months before the alleged scam became public. According to officials, several people had flagged discrepancies in the counting process, while some members of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust had reportedly detected irregularities around three months before the case surfaced.

The SIT is examining whether recommendations to change personnel involved in the counting process were acted upon and, if not, why.

Officials said that by the end of May, when evidence of the alleged theft had reportedly emerged, some trust functionaries sought assistance from the local police to recover cash from suspects. However, no FIR was registered at the time.

According to investigators, the decision was taken because those involved believed an FIR was unnecessary once recoveries had been made and that filing a case would bring the temple into "disrepute".

The scale of the alleged embezzlement emerged after investigators compared donation deposits before and after the case surfaced.

Bank officials questioned by the SIT told investigators that deposits into the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust's accounts averaged between Rs 16 lakh and Rs 18 lakh per day before the alleged theft came to light. After the scandal surfaced, daily deposits increased to between Rs 24 lakh and Rs 26 lakh.

Based on these figures, investigators estimate that between Rs 6 lakh and Rs 8 lakh had been diverted each day.

The investigation has also been aided by CCTV footage. Officials said five of the eight accused have been identified on camera, with footage allegedly showing some of them deliberately masking CCTV coverage and handling cash suspiciously during the counting process.

Investigators allege the accused concealed cash in their pockets and socks before temporarily hiding it inside temple bathrooms and later smuggling it out in small quantities. The probe has also found that the standard operating procedure, which required counting staff to wear clothing without pockets, was allegedly not followed.

Officials believe the theft peaked during the 45-day Maha Kumbh period in early 2025, when footfall at the Ram Temple surged dramatically.

While the temple typically receives between 80,000 and one lakh visitors daily, attendance reportedly rose to between 10 lakh and 12 lakh on peak days during the Maha Kumbh period from January 13 to February 26, 2025.

The sharp rise in donations prompted the bank handling the temple's accounts to formally request additional manpower for cash counting. The trust, in turn, asked the bank to recruit more personnel as the existing workforce and counting machines were insufficient to handle the increased volume.

The bank subsequently hired around 40 to 45 counting staff through a Varanasi-based agency. According to sources, many of those appointments were made on the recommendation of a handful of trust members.

The investigation has also expanded to donations made in the form of gold, silver and jewellery.

Officials said there was no systematic bookkeeping or tracking mechanism for precious metal donations, making them vulnerable to theft. As part of the probe, investigators have sought records relating to ornaments and other valuable offerings, as well as details of transactions involving the government-run Printing and Minting Corporation of India.

The trust had earlier sent 9.44 quintals (944 kg) of silver to the government mint for testing and melting as part of the process of assessing the quality and quantity of precious metal donations received from devotees. Investigators are now examining those records as part of the broader inquiry.