Ayodhya Police have questioned relatives of all eight arrested accused in the alleged misappropriation of donations and valuables at the Ram Temple as investigators try to track the movement of cash recovered during searches and establish whether the suspected diversion was part of a wider internal breach.
The questioning followed raids at the homes and premises linked to the accused after a First Information Report was registered on the basis of a preliminary report submitted by a Special Investigation Team. All eight persons named in the FIR have been arrested and remanded to judicial custody until June 29, when police are expected to press for custodial interrogation to confront them with financial records, CCTV footage and recovery details.
Investigators have so far recovered ₹79.85 lakh from seven of the accused, while no cash recovery has been reported from one of them. The seized amount is being examined against donation-counting records, deposit schedules and internal handling registers maintained for offerings made by devotees at the temple. Police are also looking at whether family members or associates helped conceal, transfer or spend the alleged proceeds.
The accused have been identified as Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Avinash Shukla, Ramshankar Mishra, Ramashankar Yadav, Manish Yadav, Subhash Chandra Srivastava and Karunesh Pandey. Six of them were linked to the counting of cash and valuables received as offerings, making the inquiry particularly sensitive for the Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which oversees the temple.
The SIT’s preliminary findings pointed to lapses in the handling of donations, alleged breaches of standard operating procedure and weaknesses in supervision during counting, storage and transfer of offerings. CCTV footage is believed to have played a central role in identifying the accused and reconstructing the suspected diversion of cash from the donation-handling process.
The FIR was filed at Ramjanmabhoomi police station after the Trust formally complained about alleged theft, misappropriation and embezzlement of funds and valuables. The case covers both named accused and unknown persons, leaving open the possibility of more arrests if investigators find evidence of collusion beyond those already in custody.
Police are also examining the role of officials and staff involved in moving donations from collection points to counting rooms and onward to bank deposits. The scrutiny has extended to the systems used to reconcile offerings, including the frequency of counting, the number of people present, the use of surveillance, and the chain of custody before funds were deposited.
The case has triggered questions over internal governance at one of the country’s most closely watched religious institutions. The Ram Temple in Ayodhya has received large volumes of donations since its consecration ceremony on January 22, 2024, drawing offerings from devotees across the country and abroad. The scale of public contributions has placed the Trust’s financial safeguards under sharper public scrutiny.
Confusion has also surrounded reports of resignations by senior Trust functionaries Champat Rai and Dr Anil Mishra. While some accounts suggested that they had stepped aside amid the controversy, there was no settled public position through official channels that conclusively clarified their status. The matter has added to pressure on the Trust to provide a transparent account of the safeguards in place for donations.
Temple construction in-charge Gopal Rao has also come under scrutiny over administrative responsibility, while the Vishva Hindu Parishad’s international president Alok Kumar has said that any probe should be fair and should not spare senior functionaries if evidence points to negligence or complicity. The Trust has said it is shocked by the allegations and has indicated that it will cooperate with the investigation.
The controversy has quickly acquired a political dimension. Opposition leaders have attacked the Uttar Pradesh government over oversight of temple affairs in Ayodhya, while the ruling establishment has sought to project the arrests and SIT action as evidence that wrongdoing will be pursued regardless of the institution involved.
