Rohit Kumar
NEW DELHI, July 9: After stealing cash from the donation box, misappropriating gold and jewelery offered to the deity and issuance of fake receipt books to accept “donations,” the accused in the Ram Temple fund embezzlement case are also believed to have siphoned off funds paid for procuring special “darshan” passes.
Amidst the donation theft controversy leading to the arrest of eight accused, mostly the donation box counting staff, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has now disabled the system-generated IDs linked to former Trust General Secretary Champat Rai, Gopal Rao and Anil Mishra that were earlier used to recommend and issue VIP darshan passes.
The donation theft case at the Ram Temple has triggered multiple administrative actions and intensified scrutiny of the temple’s internal systems, including the process for issuing special darshan passes and it was revealed that the issuance of the special darshan passes were also misused to misappropriate funds meant for the deity.
With the IDs now deactivated, no new passes can be generated through these accounts, effectively ending their role in the temple’s recommendation-based pass issuance system which were believed to have often misused by some of their close associates to collect money.
The Ram Temple issued two categories of special darshan passes: Sugam Darshan Pass and Vishisht Darshan (VIP) Pass. To facilitate these passes, the trust had created dedicated system-generated IDs for its trustees. Devotees recommended by trustees could receive special darshan passes through these IDs. Following the deactivation, no Sugam Darshan or VIP Darshan passes can now be issued using IDs linked to Champat Rai, Gopal Rao and Anil Mishra.
According to official sources, accused Tinnu Yadav, a close aide of former Trust general secretary Champat Rai, allegedly exploited this recommendation-based system to get hundreds of special darshan passes issued. The input also alleges that individuals considered close to Champat Rai and Anil Mishra were involved in an illegal network for issuing passes and earned lakhs of rupees through the alleged racket. Officials have identified three IDs through which the highest number of passes were reportedly generated. Those IDs have now been blocked as part of the trust’s action.
With the three IDs deactivated and the individuals no longer associated with the trust, devotees will no longer be able to obtain Sugam Darshan or VIP Darshan passes based on their recommendations. The move is being seen as part of the trust’s efforts to tighten oversight of the pass issuance mechanism amid the ongoing investigation into the alleged irregularities.
As the probe continues into the alleged embezzlements of donations, the investigators have recovered the stolen cash, gold jewelry and a four-wheeler, said police sources on Thursday. The development follows after authorities conducted late-night raids on Wednesday at multiple locations, acting on the information provided by the accused.
The sources said Rs 20,000 cash, a gold chain, a mobile phone and a Maruti Swift Dzire were recovered from possession of Anukalp Mishra, who is one of the eight accused arrested by the authorities. The car, they said, was registered in Mishra’s father’s name.
Additionally, the police recovered a gold locket that accused Lavkush Mishra gifted to his wife. They also found Rs 38,000 cash from them, and Rs 15,000 cash was recovered from accused Karunesh Pandey’s possession.
The police have also recovered the transaction records of the accused’s bank details, which is helping them how they made an attempt to portray the stolen funds as ‘legitimate.’
The investigation by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has also brought Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust former trustee Dr Anil Mishra’s role under scanner, as the investigators found that the mandatory Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) were not followed under his supervision creating gaps that were exploited over an extended period.
The SIT in its preliminary report has said the alleged theft was not an isolated incident but continued systematically due to weak supervision and failure to follow established procedures.
The SOP, jointly prepared by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust and the State Bank of India (SBI), lays down detailed guidelines for the collection, counting and deposit of donations. According to the document, money collected from donation boxes should be deposited into the bank at regular intervals to avoid unnecessary cash accumulation. It also mandates transparent counting procedures, periodic inspection of currency-counting machines, proper maintenance of records and monthly rotation of SBI officials involved in the counting process. The SIT report states that these safeguards were allegedly not implemented.
Under the SOP, the Trust was responsible for supervising the counting process, verifying records and ensuring transparency. It was also required to sign cash deposit slips, registers and other documents confirming transactions.
The Trust was further tasked with providing suitable working conditions for employees involved in counting donations. Meanwhile, the SOP assigned joint responsibilities to the Trust and SBI, including opening donation boxes daily in the presence of designated officials, maintaining records of the entire process and jointly operating the counting room.
The SOP also included detailed security protocols for the counting hall. Staff entering the room were not allowed to wear jewelery or valuables, while security checks at entry and exit points were mandatory. Proper maintenance of the visitor register was also required.
The counting process itself required donations to be separated, counted systematically and matched accurately. Damaged currency notes were to be kept separately, coins counted using machines, and donated valuables securely stored after being handed over to Trust officials. The guidelines also prohibited food, tobacco products and smoking inside the counting room.
According to the SIT, CCTV footage from a 45-day period showed repeated violations of these procedures. Investigators alleged that the accused took advantage of weak monitoring and inadequate checks on cash movement inside the counting hall. The report states that theft allegedly occurred on at least 70 occasions during this period. It also mentions the recovery of around ₹78.94 lakh from some employees before the investigation and another Rs 2.25 lakh from a bathroom attached to the counting room.
The preliminary report also raised questions over the implementation of the SOP under trustee Dr Anil Mishra, who had been assigned responsibility for overseeing the donation counting process. The report alleges that mandatory procedures were not followed during his tenure.
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