Police have filed a charge sheet in the Ram Temple donation theft case, prosecuting eight individuals while clearing key temple officialsAccording to the document, the thefts took place on June 3 and 4.
Published: September 26, 2026, 10:28 AM IST
Share Article
https://www.india.com/news/india/ram-temple-offering-theft-champat-rai-and-anil-mishra-given-clean-chit-by-police-made-government-witnesses-8530179/
Ram Temple offering theft: Champat Rai and Anil Mishra given clean chit by police, made government witnesses (File)
The police have filed a charge sheet in the Ayodhya Ram Temple offering theft case in Uttar PradeshThe charge sheet reveals several important facts regarding this caseThe police have given a clean chit to Champat Rai, former general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, Anil Mishra, and Gopal Rao, who have been named as witnesses in the case.
The charge sheet details how the theft of the offering money was detectedIt details the entire sequence of events, from the theft to the police actionAccording to the police chargesheet, Avinash Shukla, Karunesh Pandey, Anukalp Mishra, and Luv Kush Mishra were first caught stealing on June 3That day, counterman Madan Gopal Nigam spotted them hiding bundles of notes.
Read more:
Ayodhya Ram Mandir: Booking To Avail ‘Aarti’ Passes Begins; Check Timings, How To Generate Pass
Another theft occurred the next day, June 4Avinash Shukla was spotted stealing by census worker Sant Prasad VermaFollowing a complaint from Madan Gopal Nigam and Sant Prasad Verma, checking was initiated at the gateDuring the inspection, Avinash Shukla hid the stolen ₹225,000 in the bathroomThis amount was recovered during the search.
Champat Rai received the information on June 4According to the police chargesheet, Champat Rai, who was traveling to Ayodhya by train from Delhi on the night of June 4, was informed of the theftHe was also sent videos related to the theftAfter arriving in Ayodhya on June 5, Champat Rai held a meeting with Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao at their residence in KarsevakpuramDuring this meeting, several CCTV footage related to the offering theft was shown on a laptop.
The police chargesheet states that Champat Rai had seen the CCTV footageDespite this, he issued a statement on June 7The chargesheet also mentions Champat Rai’s statement from June 7In it, he stated that the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra undergoes periodic internal audits, involving representatives from the Trust and the State Bank of IndiaHe stated that the audit process takes several days and was still ongoing at that timeAccording to his statement, nothing significant had been discovered at that time.
According to the chargesheet, the theft was first detected on June 3Champat Rai became aware of it on June 4He was also shown CCTV footage of the theft on June 5Following this, on June 13, the Uttar Pradesh government formed a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The SIT submitted its preliminary report on June 23Subsequently, an FIR was filed at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra on June 25, 2026This FIR was filed by Krishna MohanChampat Rai and Anil Mishra have not been named as accused in the police charge sheetBoth have been named as witnesses in the case.A total of 133 witnesses have been named in the chargesheet.
Charge sheet lists a total of 133 witnesses
The police have named Krishna Mohan, the person who filed the FIR, as their first witness in the investigationThe police charge sheet lists a total of 133 witnessesThese include Champat Rai, Anil Mishra, and Gopal Rao, along with the Kotwali police station inspector, the Ram Janmabhoomi police station inspector, and the Chief Commissioner of Ayodhya, along with 27 other police officers.
During the investigation, CCTV footage showed Avinash Shukla stealing the mostHe was found stealing offerings 85 times and assisting in theft four timesKarunesh Pandey himself committed theft twice and assisted in theft 68 timesMeanwhile, Manish Yadav, nephew of Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav, committed theft 16 times and assisted in theft 19 times between April 15, 2026, and June 3, 2026This means that in approximately 50 days of employment, he was involved in theft or assisting in theft 35 times.
Luv Kush Mishra committed theft once and assisted in theft 52 timesAnukalp Mishra was found to have assisted in theft 56 timesRamashankar Mishra committed theft once.
Retired bank employee also involved in the case
According to the charge sheet, retired bank employee Subhash Srivastava was also involved in the offering theftHe assisted Avinash Shukla in the thefts on May 25th and 30thAt Subhash Srivastava’s behest, security guards did not check the offering thefts while they were coming and goingThe accused, lured by the prospect of stealing more money, had enlisted Subhash Srivastava’s help.
After Manish Yadav was hired in April 2026, the accused began stealing large sums of money togetherSubhash Srivastava retired on January 7, 2022He was responsible for depositing donations from the donation box into the bank.
According to the police, a total of ₹79,85,493 has been recovered from the seven arrested accusedA total of ₹98,30,000 has been confirmed deposited in the bank accounts of all eight accused in the case.
Champat Rai, Anil Mishra, and Gopal Rao have not been named as accused in the police charge sheetAll three have been named as witnesses in the caseThe investigation has been completed by filing a charge sheet against the eight arrested accused.
