7 banks, 5 years, 8 accused: Cops piece together money trail in Ram Temple theft
The investigation into the Ayodhya Ram Temple donation theft case has moved into a detailed financial scrutiny phase, with police seeking five years of banking
The investigation into the Ayodhya Ram Temple donation theft case has moved into a detailed financial scrutiny phase, with police seeking five years of banking records from seven banks linked to the eight arrested accused and the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. Investigators have sought account statements, transaction histories, KYC details, deposit records and other banking documents to reconstruct the movement of funds and identify any suspicious transactions connected to the alleged diversion of devotees’ offerings, police sources said. Read Full Story The probe is focused on examining whether there were unusual cash deposits, withdrawals or transfers between accounts during the period when the accused were involved in handling donation-related activities at the temple. According to the sources, the police are attempting to establish whether the money deposited into the Trust’s accounts matches the donations collected and recorded through the temple’s official systems. As part of the exercise, a police team visited the State Bank of India’s (SBI) Ayodhya Dham branch, where the Trust’s main donation account is maintained, to collect banking records and related procedural documents.
Teams also visited six other banks to obtain details of accounts allegedly linked to the accused. Investigators are examining records from accounts where the accused are believed to have maintained personal or salary accounts. The aim is to compare transactions across multiple accounts and determine whether any amount allegedly taken from temple donations moved through the banking network, sources said. The police are also expected to match the financial data with other evidence, including CCTV footage, digital records, attendance details, cash deposit registers and documents collected during the investigation. SBI BRANCH UNDER SCANNER The Ayodhya SBI branch has emerged as a key point in the investigation. It holds accounts of the temple Trust as well as seven of the eight accused. Police questioned bank officials for around four hours on Monday as part of the probe. According to SBI sources, the bank had allegedly flagged concerns over possible irregularities to the Trust and police around three months ago. The warning, however, was allegedly not acted upon.
Sources said the bank had proposed changing the cash-counting staff handling the donation collection process, but some Trust officials allegedly did not approve the move. The Trust has not publicly responded to the claim. On Monday, the bank also provided details of accounts linked to the accused to the police, sources said. TRUST OFFICIALS STEP DOWN, 8 ARRESTS The investigation has also triggered changes within the temple administration structure. Vishva Hindu Parishad leader Champat Rai, who served as General Secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, stepped down from his post. Trustee Anil Mishra also resigned amid increasing scrutiny over the handling of donations and oversight mechanisms. Both exits came as the Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government on June 13 following a request from the Trust, widened its probe into allegations of financial irregularities. The eight arrested accused – Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lav Kush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ram Shankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ramashankar alias Tinnu Yadav – were part of the team responsible for counting and managing cash and valuables donated by devotees at the temple.
The BriefWire