LUCKNOW: As the Ram temple trust holds its emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the theft of donations at the temple and decide the fate of trust general secretary Champat Rai and member Anil Mishra, here is a recap of what we know so far, based on information shared by reliable sources in Ayodhya and Lucknow. Although the SIT report is yet to be made public, TOI managed to get an idea about the findings and recommendations:1. Early warnings ignoredThe theft was flagged by multiple people even before the Samajwadi Party neta went public but was ignored, and things went out of control. Some Temple Trust members reportedly detected suspected irregularities in the counting process around three months before the case surfaced. Changes in the personnel involved were also recommended. Investigators are now examining whether those recommendations were acted upon and, if not, why. By the end of May, when concrete proof reportedly surfaced some of them took help from local police in ‘raiding’ the suspects and recovering the booty. But no FIR was lodged. The common refrain among them was that if the recovery had been made it was not required as it would bring ‘disrepute’ to the temple.2. Avinash emerges as key accusedWhat began as a suspected financial discrepancy has snowballed into one of UP’s most closely watched investigations.
The alleged embezzlement from the Ram Temple’s donation collection system is now being probed as an insider operation involving eight accused, with donation counting employee Avinash Shukla emerging as the investigation’s key figure, with recovery of a maximum of Rs 20.39 lakh, $1,121, and valuables from him. The amount recovered from other arrested accused includes Karunesh Pandey (Rs 18.07 lakh), Anukalp Mishra (Rs 16.82 lakh), Lavkush Mishra (Rs 14.25 lakh), Ramashankar Mishra (Rs 7.32 lakh) (plus silver items), Manish Kumar Yadav (Rs 2 lakh), and Ramashankar Yadav (alias Tinnu) (Rs 1 lakh). No recovery was made from the eighth accused Subhash Srivastava. Tinnu was a close associate of Champat Rai while Srivastava supervised counting work. All others are employees of an outsourcing agency hired by the SBI. All are in judicial custody till July 13.According to police sources, Avinash Shukla told investigators that Tinnu was entrusted with one of the keys to the highly secured donation counting room, at the Pilgrim Facilitation Centre, where cash offerings made by devotees were counted, reconciled and temporarily stored before being deposited in the bank. Investigators suspect that Tinnu’s alleged access to the counting room may have enabled the accused to manipulate the counting process and facilitate the alleged diversion of donation money.Shukla also allegedly claimed that he and other accused enjoyed unrestricted access to the temple’s administrative areas because of their proximity to a trustee. Investigators are examining these allegations independently and have not reached any conclusions regarding the claim.Sources said investigators are also attempting to establish the role played by each accused during the various stages of donation handling, including collection, counting, reconciliation, storage and bank deposit of cash offerings.3. Turnaround in financial conditions of accusedA noticeable jump has been witnessed in the financial status of most of the accused. They got decent houses built and started moving in SUVs with their known sources of income of Rs 14,000 to 15,000 per month. Avinash earlier sold drinking water near Hanuman Gufa in Ayodhya before securing a job at the temple’s donation counting centre. He hails from Pratapgarh and built a house in Ayodhya. Similarly, another accused Lavkush Mishra purchased a 1,000 sq ft plot on Oct 16 last year in Banipur locality in the Sohawal area of Ayodhya. The sale deed reportedly reflects a registered value of Rs 8.8 lakh. However, residents have claimed that plots of similar size in the area typically command a market value of around Rs 24 lakh to Rs 25 lakh, raising questions about valuation and the source of funds. Lavkush’s wife received a notice from the Ayodhya Development Authority to show the papers for the land. Similarly, Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu built a hostel. He was initially a driver.4. Average daily theft Rs 6-8L?According to sources, bank officials questioned by the Special Investigation Team have given an estimate of the daily amount allegedly stolen.
According to them, before the theft came to light, deposits to the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust’s bank accounts averaged Rs 16 to Rs 18 lakh per day. After the case surfaced, however, the amount rose to Rs 24 to Rs 26 lakh per day. Based on these bank figures, investigators estimate that Rs 6 to Rs 8 lakh was being siphoned off daily from temple donations.5. Accused seen stealing in CCTV footageFive of the 8 accused have been seen in CCTV footage; some of them were masking CCTV coverage. Investigators are also analysing CCTV footage that allegedly shows five of the eight accused handling cash suspiciously during the counting process.
The SIT is reconstructing the alleged modus operandi using CCTV footage, financial records, digital evidence and witness statements. While investigators believe they have uncovered a systematic breach of trust. They hid cash in pockets and socks and parked temporarily in the temple bathrooms before smuggling it out in small tranches. The SOP was that no counting staff would wear clothes with pockets, but it was clearly ignored.6. Many counting staff close to trust membersMany counting staff were hired on recommendations of two-three trust members.
The SIT is also probing allegations that at least 125 temple employees secured jobs after paying bribes or securing direct recommendations from trust member Anil Mishra, who has already resigned.7. Theft went full throttle during Maha KumbhMaha Kumbh recorded a spike in footfall at the Ram temple and also in donations. That was the time when the maximum theft is suspected to have taken place, according to questioning of the accused. Sources said that on any given day, the average footfall at the temple is between 80,000 and 1 lakh.
During the 45-day Maha Kumbh Window in 2025, between Jan 13 and Feb 26, it had increased up to 10 to 12 lakh on peak days. It was then that the bank sent a formal letter to the trust requesting more manpower to count the increased volume of cash. The trust then asked the bank to hire more people as the existing staff and counting machines were inadequate to handle the surge. It was then that nearly 40-45 counting staff were hired by the bank through a Varanasi-based agency. A large number of these appointees, as mentioned, were recommended by a handful of trust members. Also, since the processing of cash was slow due to sudden surge in volume, they got ample time to steal.8. Missing jewelleryThere was no systematic bookkeeping or tracking for gold, silver, and jewellery donations, making them incredibly easy targets for theft. The trust had, in the first phase, sent 9.44 quintals (944 kg) of silver to the government-run Mint for testing and melting as part of a process to assess the quality and quantity of precious metals received from devotees.
All this is being probed by the SIT. Champat Rai had earlier stated publicly that the temple had received nearly 13 quintals of silver and around 20 kg of gold in donations. The probe team has also sought records related to ornaments and other precious donations, along with details of transactions carried out with the government-owned Printing and Minting Corporation of India (Mint). Officials have sought a complete account of precious metals sent to banks and the Mint and are scrutinising the entire process.9. Visitors surge continuesSources said the number of devotees at the temple has remained broadly unchanged since the FIR was lodged on June 25. According to official data, the estimated footfall stood at 97,134 on June 27, 1,02,672 on June 28, and 84,102 on June 29, followed by 96,112 on June 30 and 89,653 on July 1 and around the same on July 2 and 3.10. Extended deadline to sitThe UP govt has extended the deadline for the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged donation-related irregularities in the Ayodhya pilgrimage area till July 15. CM Yogi Adityanath approved the SIT’s request for additional time to comprehensively examine all aspects of the case and directed it to submit its final report by the revised deadline.
The SIT was constituted following a request from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on June 13 comprising Lucknow divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, IG Lucknow Range Kiran S and Neelratan Kumar special secretary in finance department. The SIT was initially directed to submit a preliminary report within seven days and a final report within 15 days. Its preliminary report, submitted on June 23, led to the registration of an FIR on June 25, after which all eight named accused were arrested.
