Based on a complaint by Krishnamohan, a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, an FIR was registered at the Ram Janmabhoomi police station against eight named and other unidentified accused.
Published: June 26, 2026, 1:25 PM IST
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Ram Temple donation row: How did offerings disappear from the Ram Temple? Hidden cameras reveal theft, nexus between… (AI image)
The Ram Temple in Ayodhya is currently in the news due to the theft of donations and questions were raised as to how thefts were taking place despite the presence of CCTV cameras and security. A hidden camera has exposed the dark secrets going on inside the temple. In fact, during the last week of May, Ram Mandir Trust Officials of the organisation looked at the details of the money being deposited in the bank. And when they investigated the daily emptying of the donation boxes, they suspected theft.
Shortage in bundle of Rs 500 was a cue?
Actually, Rs 6 to 7 lakh were deposited in a donation box at one go. But, for a few weeks, a shortage was noticed in the bundle of Rs 500. After this, when the suspicion deepened, some hidden cameras were installed in the note counting room. When the footage of one week of these hidden cameras was seen, it was found that the employees engaged in the process of counting the notes were actually stealing.
How they did?
According to reports, some employees would stand in front of the CCTV and another partner would steal the notes from the bundle of notes and hide them in the clothes. However, their theft was caught in the hidden camera. According to information received, this theft was carried out in a different way. The note-counting staff would add extra notes to each bundle. When it came time to count the money at the bank, instead of counting each note individually, only the bundle was counted and a voucher was created. When the money was taken from the temple to the bank for deposit, the extra notes in each bundle were removed. This way, the amount would match the voucher and the money would be stolen.
One Anukalp Mishra was involved in the process of making donation vouchers in connivance with these people and he was doing this fraud through his brother-in-law Luv Kush Mishra. After the matter came to light, the police recovered around Rs 10 lakh from Luv Kush Mishra’s house. All the employees involved in the note counting process were known to someone or the other.
Champat Rai’s driver Tinnu Yadav was the manager and is also an accomplish. He had put his cousin Manish Yadav in the note counting process. Similarly, Anukalp Mishra, who had been working for years, had put his brother-in-law Luv Kush Mishra in charge.
The negligence of not frisking any employee upon returning from duty also resulted in a gradual increase in theft. No employee leaving the place where donation boxes were opened, notes were sorted, and bundles were made was frisked. CCTV footage of the arrested Avinash Pandey was viewed, and he was also found to be depositing the stolen money into the bank.
During the investigation, the Ram Mandir Trust official conducted a reconciliation and it was confirmed that Avinash was depositing a portion of the stolen donations into his bank account. These people also stole the jewellery donated by devotees in the donation box. Jewellery like earrings, jhumkis, nose rings, Bal Roop Ram Lal’s bracelets, anklets etc were also stolen. The most important thing is that they would steal first and then count the notes or make a record of the jewellery found in the donation box. Apart from this, Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav and Subhash Chandra are the persons involved in this case who regularly visited the room of the Ram Mandir Trust where the donation boxes were opened.
Who all have been arrested?
- Ramshankar Yadav ‘Tinnu’: Formerly the driver for Trust General Secretary Champat Rai, he had direct involvement in almost all temple-related activities. He was even found to be in possession of the keys to the donation boxes.
- Anukalp Mishra: An employee involved in counting cash. He has been identified as the mastermind behind the embezzlement case and was the first to be apprehended. A sum of ₹20 lakh was recovered from his residence in Kaushalpuri.
- Lavkush Mishra: He is Anukalp Mishra’s brother-in-law. He had been hired through the recommendation of his father-in-law, Ravindra Mishra (who is also Anukalp’s father). Approximately ₹10 lakh in cash was found at his home.
- Manish Yadav: He is Tinnu Yadav’s nephew. Tinnu had hired him only about four or five months ago. Some cash has been recovered from him as well.
- Subhash Srivastava: After retiring from Canara Bank, he was not only appointed as a trust employee but was also assigned to oversee the counting of cash.
- Avinash Shukla: He was involved in the counting process and is a resident of Ayodhya city. Five lakh rupees were recovered from his account.
- Karunesh Pandey: Was involved in the counting process and was considered very close to Anukalp.
- Ramashankar Mishra: Was involved in the counting of cash. Some cash was also recovered from his possession.
