Ram Mandir Donation Theft Case: SIT Widens Probe, Seeks 5-Year Trust Audit as Two Officials Resign

The investigation into the alleged theft of donations at Ayodhya's Ram Mandir has widened significantly, with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) now seeking five years of banking records from the temple trust and two senior trust functionaries stepping down amid the fallout. How the case started The probe stems from allegations by former Samajwadi Party MLA Pawan Pandey that between ₹7 crore and ₹7.5 crore in devotee donations had been misappropriated. The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust itself requested a state investigation, and the Uttar Pradesh government formed a three-member SIT on June 13–14, comprising Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, IG (Range) Kiran S, and Special Secretary (Finance) Neel Ratan. The SIT submitted a preliminary report on June 23, after which an FIR was registered on June 25 against eight named individuals, including Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Avinash Shukla, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava, and Ramashankar Yadav alias "Tinnu." All eight have since been arrested and remanded to 14 days of judicial custody. The audit and the trust's own accountability The SIT's interim findings reportedly flagged large-scale procedural failures rather than clearing trust officials — including inadequate security during cash counting, lax checks on staff entering and exiting counting rooms, and failure to preserve CCTV footage. The government has since extended the SIT's probe by 15 days on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's orders, and investigators have asked for five years of financial records tied to trust accounts and to individuals connected with the accused, aiming to trace the full money trail. That scrutiny has reached the top of the trust. General Secretary Champat Rai was questioned for roughly three hours and, according to sources, struggled to answer several questions about donation management and staff appointments. Trustee Dr. Anil Mishra is separately being investigated over allegations that he sought a 40% commission in certain dealings, while trust office-bearer Gopal Rao remains "under the scanner" over multiple allegations, and land transactions involving an aide close to Champat Rai are also being examined. Notices have gone out to roughly 70–80 trust office-bearers and employees, with statements expected from around 140 witnesses in total. Amid the mounting pressure, both Champat Rai and Anil Mishra have resigned from their positions — Rai citing moral grounds, according to reporting on the case. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, while historically linked to Rai through the broader Ram Janmabhoomi movement, has publicly distanced itself from the trust's day-to-day decisions and called for a probe covering "everybody," naming Rai, Rao, and Mishra specifically. What's been recovered so far Police raids on the homes of primary accused have turned up cash, jewelry, and property documents. Investigators found ₹12 lakh in cash concealed under a heap of cow dung at Lavkush Mishra's ancestral home in Milkipur. Reporting on the accused's finances has noted that Anukalp Mishra and Lavkush Mishra — both employed on modest temple-linked salaries reportedly around ₹15,000–20,000 a month — had recently built or begun building houses worth tens of lakhs of rupees, a discrepancy investigators are now examining alongside bank and property records. Total recoveries across all eight accused stand at roughly ₹80 lakh so far, against an alleged theft of around ₹7 crore. Separately, the Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA) has issued a notice over an under-construction house linked to Lavkush Mishra's wife, alleging the building violates approved construction norms; officials have warned of demolition action if a satisfactory response isn't filed within a week. The "Ramrajya Kosh" donation box Among the more unusual pieces of evidence is a donation chest labeled "Ramrajya Kosh," bearing a QR code (reportedly linked to Paytm), recovered from a yoga centre in Ayodhya where accused Avinash Shukla had been living. Investigators have described it as one of the most significant pieces of evidence recovered so far and plan to have forensic experts trace the linked bank account and transaction history to determine whether donations meant for the temple were diverted through it. Viral social media clips — including footage reportedly showing a relative of one accused handling large bundles of cash — have also been pulled into the investigation to help trace the flow of funds. The probe has also widened to examine roughly 400 private security personnel deployed at the temple complex, with police reviewing duty rosters, CCTV footage, and entry-exit logs to determine whether security protocols were breached or circumvented. What's next The SIT is working to establish a complete money trail and determine how much of the alleged ₹7 crore can be recovered. With the probe's timeline extended and senior trust officials now under direct financial scrutiny, the case has moved well beyond the original eight accused — and its outcome is likely to shape how India's most prominent temple trust manages devotee donations going forward.