Donation Theft in Ayodhya Temple

A major financial irregularity has come to light at the Ayodhya Ram Temple, where donation funds collected through hundis were allegedly siphoned off and diverted into stock market investments. Investigations revealed that the accused used a strategic method to conceal the origin of the stolen money. Instead of depositing the funds directly into their own accounts, they first transferred the cash into the bank accounts of relatives and friends, and later routed it back to their personal accounts to avoid suspicion.

During police interrogation, conducted with court permission, the accused — Anukul Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, and Karunesh Pandey — reportedly confessed to these methods. Officials suspect that a portion of the stolen donation money was invested in stocks and other financial instruments. As part of the investigation, authorities have frozen around 30 bank accounts linked to the accused, their relatives, and associates. Meanwhile, Champat Rai, VHP Vice President, who resigned as the Trust’s General Secretary amid the controversy, informed the SIT through a letter that former member Mishra had helped design the temple’s Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in coordination with SBI.