The investigation into the alleged siphoning of offerings at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya has entered a sharper phase. After questioning the first arrested accused, Avinash Shukla, on remand, police have gathered several important leads and are now preparing to widen the net. Investigators have moved court seeking custody of three more men named in the case: Lavkush Mishra, Anukalp Mishra and Ramashankar Yadav, better known as Tinnu.
Leads from Avinash's custody trigger a fresh remand plea
Police have filed a remand application in court to question additional accused. Earlier, when police sought 48 hours of custody, the court granted 13 hours of remand for Avinash Shukla. That short window proved productive, yielding several crucial clues. On the strength of this new information, police are expected to soon take Lavkush Mishra, Anukalp Mishra and Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu into custody to dig deeper into the entire operation.
During the phased questioning on remand, investigators showed Avinash 45 days of CCTV footage from the temple complex. After watching himself pulling cash out of the offerings on camera, Avinash allegedly admitted he had been carrying out the theft for a long time. The stolen money, he said, was split equally among all the accused, though some people occasionally walked away with a bigger share, and Tinnu stayed the dominant figure throughout. According to the investigation records, the case file also details the recovery of cash and jewellery tied to six accused, and police are now working to connect every link in the chain.
Daily collections jumped once the counting was tightened
The most striking finding concerns the money flowing into the temple's accounts. Daily deposits in the Ram Mandir accounts have climbed from 16 to 18 lakh rupees to between 24 and 26 lakh. The SIT had earlier suspected a daily skim of 6 to 8 lakh rupees. As soon as the cash counting and bank deposit process was tightened, the deposits jumped by roughly 6 to 8 lakh rupees, pointing directly at the earlier leakage.
Bank employees under the scanner
An SBI manager and 10 bank employees have been questioned in the case, and transaction records have been seized. The role of two to three people is under examination. Bank employees Gagandeep and Ratnesh, who were in charge of counting the cash, have also been found suspect.
Cashier records statement before the SIT
A cashier who worked alongside the accused day after day has recorded his statement before the SIT. During roughly 30 minutes of questioning, the SIT asked him detailed questions about the temple's security setup, the counting process, the behaviour of the accused and the wider system. The statement was recorded in the green house built inside the temple complex.
Reshuffle in the Ayodhya police
Amid the case, Ayodhya SSP Dr. Gaurav Grover has made significant changes to the jurisdictions of three DSPs, or COs. Ashish Nigam, who was handling charge as CO Rudauli, has been relieved following an out-of-district transfer. In his place, Arvind Sonkar, who was CO Sadar, has been named the new CO Rudauli. Pratik Kumar has been given charge as CO Sadar, while Raju Nishad has been deployed to the crucial security arrangements of the Ram Janmabhoomi complex.
New SP Security takes charge
The security of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple has also seen a major change. Vijay Shankar Mishra, posted in the PAC, will take charge on Saturday as the new SP Security of Ram Janmabhoomi. He arrived in Ayodhya on Friday afternoon. Earlier, on May 25, then SP Security Balramachari Dubey was transferred. The SP Security post is considered the nodal in-charge of the temple's internal and external security, so the responsibility for monitoring and coordinating security across the complex will now rest with Vijay Shankar Mishra.
July 6 Trust meeting and a viral letter
An important meeting of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust will be held on July 6 at Maniram Das Chhavani at 3 PM, chaired by Trust president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das. This will be the Trust's first formal meeting since the theft case surfaced. The meeting may take up and decide on the resignations of General Secretary Champat Rai and trustee Dr. Anil Mishra. The SIT's interim report will also be placed before the Trust, and there will be detailed discussion on the income and expenditure for financial year 2025-26, temple management and other administrative issues. The agenda has already been released, called with the president's permission by treasurer Swami Govind Dev Giri in a five-point format.
A letter about this meeting has been circulating fast on social media, claiming a 3 PM gathering at Maniram Das Chhavani and referring to the alleged resignations, the SIT interim report and financial details. However, this letter has not been officially confirmed, and its claims should not be treated as verified until they are formally established.
Saints rally behind Champat Rai
On the donation case, saints held a joint press conference to back General Secretary Champat Rai. They said it was not appropriate to declare anyone guilty until the SIT investigation is complete, and that Champat Rai's resignation should not be accepted. Singling out only Champat Rai while leaving out the entire Trust, they said, was wrong. The saints noted that responsibility for income and expenditure lies with the treasurer and raised questions about his role. They also expressed trust in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the SIT probe, adding that the guilty must certainly be punished, but only after a fair investigation is concluded.
Congress demands a multi-agency forensic probe
UP Congress president Ajay Rai has written to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath demanding an independent, multi-agency forensic investigation of the entire episode. He appealed for a fair, scientific and time-bound probe into the offerings, land purchase, construction spending and the full money trail. Calling devotees' faith and transparency of public money paramount, the Congress also demanded a thorough examination of CCTV records, digital data, bank accounts, GST, TDS, income tax records and audit reports. The party said that if needed, the case should be handed to the ED and other competent investigating agencies.
Digvijaya Singh's padyatra and the row over his remarks
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh has made a major announcement over the offerings theft. From October 2, he will begin a padyatra of about 1000 kilometres from Ujjain's Mahakal Temple to the Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya. He made clear there will be no Congress campaigning during the yatra, and that he will not use Facebook, X or any other social media platform through the journey.
At the same time, Digvijaya Singh's statement on the Ram Mandir and the Pran Pratishtha has drawn sharp reactions from saints. Mahant Kalki Ram said Congress should not do politics on the Ram Mandir issue. Mahant Satyendra Das Vedanti called the statement unfortunate, while Sant Sitaram Das also criticised it sharply, saying such remarks on matters of faith are not appropriate. The saints said the Ram Mandir is the centre of faith for crores of devotees and that controversial comments about it will not be accepted.
Saints in Ayodhya also reacted to Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav's Kashi visit and his Hindutva politics. Calling it a political strategy ahead of the 2027 assembly election, the saints said merely visiting temples will not mislead the public. They said the Sanatani community knows the SP's old stance well and its politics on Hindutva will not succeed. Taking aim at the SP-Congress alliance, they claimed it would ultimately hurt the opposition.
Bulldozer threat over accused's house
The Ayodhya Development Authority, or ADA, has prepared to run a bulldozer over the new house of accused Lavkush Mishra and Anukalp Mishra. The ADA has also issued a notice to Lavkush's wife, Supriya Mishra. However, Lavkush's wife says they have received no notice and that the map of their house is approved. She said she only wants her husband to come home and prays to God that nothing happens to him.
RSS speaks out for the first time
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh issued its first statement on the Ram Mandir offerings theft on Friday. In a video, Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale said the theft of money kept in the donation boxes at the Ramlala temple is unfortunate and has deeply hurt the feelings and faith of Ram devotees. He said that whoever is found guilty in the SIT investigation must be given a severe punishment.
Bahraich dargah also under a cloud
Meanwhile, the Salar Masood Ghazi Dargah in Bahraich is once again in the headlines. The dargah committee faces allegations of large-scale irregularities in offerings and financial transactions. A district administration inquiry found that the committee could not produce financial records for the past 10 years. Locals, claiming there has been no audit for 20 years, have raised fears of irregularities in offerings worth more than 100 crore rupees and have demanded an SIT investigation from the Chief Minister.
Call to preserve donated jewellery
Acharya Ashok Dwivedi, former president of the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust, said this should be called an offering or dakshina rather than a donation. He suggested that jewellery received from devotees be safely preserved in a museum instead of being melted down, and that worship in temples be arranged in keeping with Vedic tradition.
