Ram Temple theft surfaced after looters fought, Rs 80 lakh found in dump: SP leader

Published 28 June 2026 · politics

Samajwadi Party leader from Ayodhya and former Uttar Pradesh minister Pawan Pandey has alleged that the purported Ram Temple donation theft came to light only

Samajwadi Party leader from Ayodhya and former Uttar Pradesh minister Pawan Pandey has alleged that the purported Ram Temple donation theft came to light only after those involved in the alleged loot had a major fall out over the division of money. He also claimed that Rs 80 lakh recovered from a garbage dump and cash allegedly found at multiple locations were sufficient evidence of wrongdoing, while questioning the credibility of the ongoing Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe. Read Full Story Speaking on UP Tak's special podcast, Pandey claimed he was among the first to learn about the alleged irregularities at the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple. The former Ayodhya MLA also asserted that Lord Ram himself chose Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav to expose the matter, besides commenting on the resignation of senior temple trust officials and the ongoing investigation. HOW AKHILESH YADAV EXPOSED ALLEGED THEFT Pandey claimed that the Samajwadi Party chief had already received information about the alleged irregularities at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust and had called him to verify the claims. "He asked whether offerings, jewellery and large-scale irregularities had taken place. I told him that everything was absolutely true," Pandey recalled. According to Pandey, Yadav then posted about the alleged theft on X on June 7, triggering nationwide attention. "This is extremely unfortunate. Ayodhya is known across the world because of Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram.

It has a glorious history, with the Saryu river, Hanumangarhi, Bajrangbali, and numerous revered saints and mahants," he said. 'LORD RAM CHOSE AKHILESH YADAV': PANDEY During the podcast, Pandey, who represented Ayodhya in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly between 2012 and 2017, made the extraordinary claim that divine intervention led to the alleged scam being exposed. "The information came to us when Lord Ram himself realised that robbery was taking place in his temple. Money was disappearing, offerings were disappearing, and people's faith was being betrayed," he claimed. Pandey further alleged that Lord Ram chose Yadav to reveal the alleged scam because the Samajwadi Party chief is a devotee of Lord Shiva and is constructing a grand Kedareshwar Mahadev temple. "You will have to ask Akhilesh ji. But it was Lord Ram who made Akhilesh ji aware that robbery was taking place in his sacred temple," he said. HOW THE THEFT CAME TO LIGHT Pandey also alleged that the matter became public only after those allegedly involved in the theft began fighting among themselves over the division of the money. "The people responsible for counting the offerings began fighting over who was taking away more money. One would accuse another of taking jewellery or cash," he alleged. He further claimed that trust officials had suppressed the alleged irregularities for years and that internal infighting eventually brought the matter into the open.