Shocking details are emerging one after another in the investigation into the misappropriation of crores of rupees in donations meant for the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. During police interrogation, Avinash Shukla—one of the arrested accused—confessed that large sums of cash, removed from the temple’s donation counting centre, were initially hidden in the complex’s restrooms. Later, the money would be smuggled out whenever the opportunity arose.
According to investigative sources, Avinash Shukla was interrogated for nearly two hours on Tuesday with the court’s permission. During the questioning, he confessed to embezzling crores of rupees and provided a detailed account of how the entire racket operated.
According to police sources, Abinash revealed that these irregularities had been going on for a long time. The embezzlement was carried out by exploiting various security and surveillance loopholes at the temple’s donation counting center.
Investigative sources reveal that the name of Anil Mishra, a trustee of the Avinash Mandir Trust, was also mentioned during interrogation. It is alleged that Mishra played a significant role in the entire process of counting donations. Notably, Trustee Anil Mishra and Champat Rai, General Secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, resigned last week following questions raised regarding the collection and management of donations.
Apart from Abinash Shukla, the police have arrested seven others in this case. Those arrested include Ramashankar—alias Tinnu Yadav—known to be a close associate of Champat Rai; Subhash Srivastava, the official responsible for counting donations; and counting staff members Anukalpa Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Ram Shankar Mishra, and Karunesh Pandey.
Investigators claim Abinash revealed that of the two keys to the room where donations were counted, one was held by Tinnu Yadav and the other by bank staff. This theft could not have been carried out by a single individual; rather, it was a well-planned operation. While one person siphoned off the money, the others would form a ‘human shield’ around him to provide cover.
Investigators claim that the accused were fully aware of the temple’s CCTV camera locations and their fields of view. Consequently, they would exploit the cameras’ ‘blind spots’ to first hide cash in the restroom, retrieving it later when the opportunity arose. As they were close to influential figures within the trust, they did not arouse suspicion nor face strict surveillance.
The police claim that although the temple premises were equipped with adequate CCTV and a control room for surveillance, security personnel failed to actively monitor the movements of the accused. Taking advantage of this lapse, donations worth crores of rupees were misappropriated. Avinash further revealed that land and houses were subsequently purchased using the embezzled funds.
The police are currently investigating the financial transactions, bank accounts, and movable and immovable assets of the accused. Investigators are examining how such massive embezzlement went undetected for so long and whether any larger syndicate or influential individuals are involved behind the scenes.
Following the public disclosure of allegations regarding this massive financial scandal, the government of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on June 13.
Meanwhile, another significant piece of information has emerged during the investigation. It has been revealed that prior to the filing of the FIR—specifically on June 5—a sum of ₹58 lakh was recovered from Abinash Shukla’s residence on behalf of the trust. Investigative sources claim that the remaining amount was subsequently returned via bank transfer between June 5 and June 8.
According to a section of lawyers, the sequence of events initially suggests that attempts were made to recover the funds and mitigate the loss before the matter reached the courts. The police have now also brought the Trust’s role during that period under investigation. However, no formal response has been received from the Trust regarding these allegations so far.
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