Eight people were arrested on Friday in connection with the alleged irregularities in donations received at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, a day after the Uttar Pradesh Police registered an FIR based on a complaint filed by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which manages the temple.
The arrests come after a preliminary investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) reportedly found prima facie evidence of financial irregularities in the handling of devotees’ offerings. Based on the findings, police initiated criminal proceedings and took all eight accused into custody.
Among those arrested is Ramashankar Yadav, alias Tinnu, who is said to be associated with the office of the Trust’s General Secretary, Champat Rai. The other accused have been identified as Anukalp Mishra, Avinash Shukla, Karunesh Pandey, Manish Yadav, Lavkush Mishra, Ramashankar Mishra and retired bank employee Subhash Srivastava, who was responsible for supervising the counting of donations.
Police officials said investigators are examining the alleged role of Ramashankar Yadav in the collection, movement and management of temple donations, while the involvement of the remaining accused is also under detailed scrutiny.
The accused have been booked under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including offences related to criminal breach of trust, cheating, theft and criminal conspiracy.
The Uttar Pradesh government had constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team on June 13 following a request from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. The SIT conducted its preliminary inquiry in Ayodhya between June 15 and June 20.
During the investigation, officials examined the functioning of donation boxes, counting procedures, storage systems, accounting records, access control and CCTV surveillance. According to people familiar with the probe, the preliminary report highlighted suspected irregularities in the handling of temple offerings, leading to a recommendation for criminal action.
Investigators are now expected to widen the probe to determine the scale of the alleged misappropriation, trace the movement of donations and identify whether the alleged conspiracy was limited to the eight arrested accused or involved additional individuals with access to the temple’s donation system.
The issue first gained political attention after Samajwadi Party leader Tej Narayan Pandey raised allegations regarding the handling of donations at the Ram Temple, prompting further scrutiny and eventually leading to the SIT investigation.
