Questions on everything from offerings to ‘trust’ in Ram temple! Why did the scam worth crores shake the largest religious institution? Know the complete timeline

Digital Desk: At the time of the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on 22 January 2024, hardly anyone would have thought that within a few years the issue of irregularities in the offerings made to the temple would become a topic of national discussion. After allegations of misappropriation of donations worth crores of rupees, now this matter is not limited to only criminal investigation, but is also raising questions on the temple management, security arrangements and monitoring system. On the other hand, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has been continuously saying that many of the allegations are misleading and it is fully cooperating in the investigation.

The journey from Ram Mandir movement to temple construction

The Ram Temple movement remained a major political and social issue for the Bharatiya Janata Party and Vishwa Hindu Parishad for a long time. The path for the construction of the temple was cleared after the beginning of the movement in 1984, the Rath Yatra of 1990, the Babri structure incident of 1992 and the decision of the Supreme Court on 9 November 2019. After this, Ram Temple was inaugurated on 22 January 2024.

How were questions raised on donation management?

After the construction of the temple, there was a huge influx of devotees and donations also reached a record level. Meanwhile, allegations of alleged irregularities in the offerings came to light, after which the matter reached the investigating agencies along with political controversy.

Ram Mandir Donation Case: Complete Timeline

7 June 2026

Samajwadi Party leader Tej Narayan ‘Pawan’ Pandey in a press conference alleged that there has been alleged embezzlement of about Rs 5 to 7.5 crore from the donation boxes of Ram Temple. The political debate intensified after the allegations.

10 June 2026

BJP also said that there should be a fair investigation into the matter and the government talked about taking the investigation process forward.

13 June 2026

The Uttar Pradesh government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the case. The investigation team is led by Lucknow Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant and IG Kiran S. entrusted to.

15 June 2026

SIT reached Ayodhya and started the process of collecting documents, records and other evidence from the temple premises.

17 June 2026

The trust said that during a routine audit, irregularities in cash and some material were suspected. After this the investigation of CCTV footage was started.

SIT investigation took approximately It came to light that 70 suspicious incidents had been identified. During investigation, some footage allegedly showed counting personnel hiding wads of currency notes in clothes, pockets and shoes. According to the investigating agencies, the weaknesses of blind spots and frisking system of CCTV were also allegedly taken advantage of.

20 June 2026

Questioning of a large number of people started under the investigation. According to media reports around 150 people were interrogated.

25 June 2026

An FIR was registered against eight people in the donation theft case and the police arrested eight accused. Among the arrested accused, names of some employees associated with the trust also came to light.

26 June 2026

Police arrested Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Yadav, Ramshankar Yadav (Tinnu), Subhash Srivastava, Karunesh Pandey and Ramshankar Mishra.

in the raid Information was given that more than Rs 79.85 lakh in cash, foreign currency, gold and silver jewelery and a donation box written ‘Ram Rajya Kosh’ was recovered. Of the recovered cash, the maximum amount of Rs 20.40 lakh was claimed to be from Avinash Shukla.

27 June 2026

Investigating agencies reported that the available CCTV records were approximately 45 days old, making it challenging to determine the exact time of onset of the alleged irregularities.

27-30 June 2026

The SIT recorded the statements of the then general secretary of the trust, Champat Rai, and trustee Anil Mishra. Vishwa Hindu Parishad said that both are cooperating in the investigation and no FIR has been registered against them.

3 July 2026

The Trust rejected many of the allegations, saying that the donated items were safe and many of the claims were not factual.

6 July 2026

Champat Rai and Anil Mishra resigned from their posts. The Trust accepted the resignations of both and appointed Krishna Mohan as interim General Secretary.

What is the situation at present?

Presently all eight accused are in judicial custody. Uttar Pradesh Police and SIT are investigating the alleged money trail, recovered cash and properties linked to it. Trust president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das termed the incident as “shameful and a sin” and demanded strict action against the culprits.

side of trust

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust is continuously saying that the allegations of disappearance of many donated items are not factual. The Trust says all available records are secure, many of the claims are misleading and it is fully cooperating with the investigating agencies. The Trust has also made it clear that it supports action against anyone found guilty.

CEO post will be created for the first time

Amidst the investigation, the Trust has taken a big decision towards making the temple management more professional. For the first time, the post of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) has been created. For this, a three-member selection committee has been formed, which includes retired judge Justice Pramod Kohli, former Lieutenant General Vishnu Kant Chaturvedi and Suresh Haware.

New debate on temple management across the country

After the Ram Mandir donation episode, a new discussion has started regarding donations coming to temples across the country, their monitoring system, audit system and trust management. With millions of temples in India operating under various religious laws and Trust Acts, the debate over transparency and accountability has intensified.

Also read: Ayodhya News: Ram temple donation theft, recorded on camera 70 times, many shocking revelations in SIT report