The eight people named as the accused in a First Information Report (FIR) regarding the alleged embezzlement of donations received at the Ram temple in Ayodhya have been arrested and sent to judicial custody until June 29.
“At the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, devotees donated money to the donation boxes. The money was allegedly embezzled and stolen by employees of the trust,” Prosecution Officer K.C. Verma told journalists outside the court in Ayodhya. “The eight accused will be produced before the Special Court dealing with corruption-related matters on Monday. A total of ₹79.85 lakhs has been recovered from them,” he added. Heavy police security was deployed at the court during the hearing.
Also Read | ₹5,000 cr. misused in Ayodhya’s Ram temple, says Mallikarjun Kharge
The accused — Lavkush Mishra, Anukalp Mishra, Avinash Shukla, Manish Yadav, Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu, Subhash Chandra Srivastava, Avinash Shukla, and Karunesh Pandey — have been booked on charges including theft, criminal breach of trust, cheating and criminal conspiracy under multiple sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). As per the FIR, these accused were responsible for counting the cash and valuables donated by devotees at the temple.
Resignation rumours
The arrested accused include close aides of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra (SRJTK) Trust general secretary Champat Rai, who is rumoured to have resigned from the key post.
However, Vishva Hindu Parishad social media head Rakesh Pandey denied these rumours as fake news. “One should have waited till the official information came but the entire media is destroying the world of media by running such false news. Not a single person made the copy of the resignation public,” Mr. Pandey said in a post on X.
‘Cannot evade responsibility’
Uttar Pradesh Opposition parties claimed that, while the FIR accused trust employees, the real bigwigs behind the alleged scam — such as Mr. Champat Rai, fellow SRJTK trustee Anil Mishra, and temple construction in-charge Gopal Rao — have been protected by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“We will launch a campaign against this massive corruption and attempt to protect powerful people,” said U.P. Congress chief Ajay Rai. “The real culprit is Ram Temple trust members like Champat Rai, they should be immediately arrested. Uttar Pradesh government cannot evade accountability and shield Champat Rai Bansal, the main man behind the corruption at Ayodhya,” he added.
The FIR was registered on Thursday (June 25), after a preliminary investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the Uttar Pradesh government.
‘Tampering with faith’
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath vowed to enforce accountability. “Tampering with people’s faith cannot be tolerated. As soon as the SIT report was received, action was initiated immediately,” he said. “I assure you, and I had said this earlier as well, that we will separate truth from falsehood. Whoever tampers with the faith of the people will have to face the consequences. No one can be given such a free hand.”
He insisted that no “aspersions” should be cast on the sacred town of Ayodhya or its reigning deity. “I was on a visit to Ayodhya on June 19. Even then, I had said that Ayodhya is a symbol of the faith of all of us and a symbol of Sanatan Dharma of India. Do not cast aspersions on Ayodhya. Learn to uphold the dignity of Bhagwan Shri Ram. Regarding the reports that were coming from Ayodhya, I had said that as soon as the SIT report was received, our action would also begin,” Mr. Adityanath said.
The CM lashed out at critics from the Opposition Congress and the Samajwadi Party. “One party used to say that Ram never existed, meaning they did not even want to accept Ayodhya. They kept fighting the case in the courts and fielded an army of lawyers. They stood against the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi movement and the construction of the temple,” he said.
Published - June 26, 2026 11:14 am IST
