The investigation into the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya has reached State Bank of India. An Ayodhya Police team questioned officials at the State Bank of India (SBI) Naya Ghat branch, where the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust keeps its main bank account.
The embezzlement is of crores of rupees. While initial whistleblower estimates suggested discrepancies between ₹7 crore and ₹7.5 crore, subsequent political allegations claimed that systemic siphoning of cash and valuables might be as high as ₹200 crore.
Two temple employees, whose monthly salaries were around ₹20,000, came under intense scrutiny after allegedly purchasing properties worth up to ₹1.5 crore, leading to accusations of embezzlement and fraud.
Since its inauguration in January 2024, the three-storey temple spread over 2.7 acres has become one of India’s most important pilgrimage centres, attracting an estimated 50 million visitors annually.
On Monday, investigators visited the branch and recorded the statement of the branch manager. Police are verifying whether all banking procedures were properly followed while receiving and depositing donations from devotees.
Police are investigating whether any mistakes or irregularities in the banking process allowed the alleged diversion of donation money. They are also examining the role of two SBI employees, Ratnesh and Gagandeep.
According to sources, the two officials supervised six outsourced workers who handled the cash. All six workers have already been arrested in connection with the case. Except for Subhash Srivastava and Ram Shankar Yadav, also known as Tinnu, all the accused were outsourced workers. Their job was to count the donations inside the temple and transport the cash to the SBI branch for deposit.
Eight counting staff have been arrested in connection with the theft case, and efforts are underway to recover stolen assets from the temple donation boxes. The SBI, which maintains the temple trust’s account, had outsourced the job to count the donation funds to another agency.
Of the eight accused, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Ramashankar Mishra, Avnish, and Karunesh Shukla were recruited through an outsourcing agency for the job. It has been learnt that they were all either relatives or close associates of the trust officials and worked under the supervision of Ratnesh and Gagandeep.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) is now expanding its investigation. It is not only looking into the alleged theft but also checking whether there were failures in the donation management system at different levels.
The investigation gained momentum after the SIT submitted its preliminary report. Based on the report, an FIR was registered against eight people. All eight have now been arrested. They face charges of theft, criminal breach of trust, criminal conspiracy, and offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Police also suspect that some of the accused tried to destroy evidence. Investigators believe some deleted WhatsApp chats and other data from their mobile phones, while others formatted their devices before their arrest.
The seized mobile phones will be sent for forensic examination to recover deleted data. Investigators hope the recovered information will help establish links between the accused and reveal more details about the alleged conspiracy. Police have also conducted raids at several locations linked to the accused to trace the money trail and recover documents, electronic devices, and other evidence.
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which manages the temple, has firmly rejected claims of massive corruption. General Secretary Champat Rai has publicly defended the management, stating that the daily counting of donation boxes is a rigorous process conducted under heavy oversight by trust officials, workers, and State Bank of India employees.
