Ram Mandir donation theft case: Rs 79.85 lakh recovered, 8 accused sent to judicial custody till Monday
New Delhi: All eight accused in the alleged Ram Mandir donation theft case were produced before a court in Ayodhya on Friday and sent to judicial custody till Monday.
Police arrested the accused after an FIR was registered. They were produced before Remand Magistrate Nivedita Singh amid heavy security at the court premises.
The Uttar Pradesh Police did not seek the accused’s remand on Friday, as the special court hearing cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act was closed for a holiday. The accused will be produced before the court again on Monday, when police are expected to seek their remand for further questioning.
Rs 79.85 lakh recovered.
Prosecution Officer KC Verma said a total of Rs 79,85,493 was recovered from the accused. Recoveries were made from seven of the eight accused. No cash was recovered from trust employee Subhash Srivastava, though he is alleged to have been part of the conspiracy. The eight accused include six outsourced bank personnel involved in handling temple donations—Anukalp Mishra, Avinash Shukla, Karunesh Pandey, Manish Yadav, Lavkush Mishra and Ramashankar Mishra. The remaining two accused are trust employees Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu and Subhash Srivastava. Verma said the accused include public servants and several employees associated with the State Bank of India (SBI). According to him, around five or six SBI personnel are among those arrested.
How the case emerged
The case concerns the alleged theft of cash, gold, silver, and other valuables donated by devotees at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya. The temple receives an estimated ₹8–13 lakh in donations every day through around 35 donation boxes.
The controversy began earlier this month after allegations surfaced that cash and valuables had been stolen over a long period. Investigators also suspect that some gold and silver items were replaced with fake ones and that serious lapses existed in the handling and security of donations.
According to the investigation, some employees allegedly stole cash while counting donations. CCTV footage reportedly captured some of the thefts, while some cameras were found to be non-functional or their footage had been deleted. The probe has also revealed that some accused allegedly purchased luxury cars, iPhones and other expensive assets despite their known sources of income.
SIT probe expands
The Uttar Pradesh government constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the case. Based on a complaint filed by trust member Krishna Mohan, an FIR was registered against eight named accused and others under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Most of the accused were involved in the temple’s donation counting process, while the trust employees allegedly assisted in the conspiracy. The SIT is now widening its investigation to examine the role of supervisors and other officials. Several more employees remain under the scanner as investigators continue to probe the alleged embezzlement.
