6 Of 8 Arrested In Ram Temple Row Were Employed By Varanasi Security Firm For Cash Counting

Published 1 July 2026 · local

6 Of 8 Arrested In Ram Temple Row Were Employed By Varanasi Security Firm For Cash Counting Published By, Last Updated: July 01, 2026, 08:52

6 Of 8 Arrested In Ram Temple Row Were Employed By Varanasi Security Firm For Cash Counting Published By, Last Updated: July 01, 2026, 08:52 IST Ayodhya Police have widened the Ram Temple donation probe, questioning Champat Rai and examining the role of private security personnel in the cash-counting process. Mumbai: Opposition MLAs protest over the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ayodhya Ram Mandir (Photo: PTI) Six of the eight people arrested in connection with the alleged irregularities in the collection of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya were employed by a Varanasi-based private security agency that supplied manpower for the shrine’s cash-counting process, Hindustan Times has reported. According to the report, the agency, Sainik Security Services, was incorporated in its present form in December 2017 with a registered office in Varanasi and a paid-up capital of Rs 1 lakh, as per records available on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs database. The development comes as the Uttar Pradesh Police continues to widen its probe into the alleged embezzlement of temple donations. According to news agency PTI, police on Tuesday recorded the statement of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai, while investigators also expanded their inquiry into the role of private security personnel deployed at the temple complex. The alleged irregularities first came to light after a Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government on June 13, reportedly found widespread violations of the standard operating procedures governing the management of temple donations, PTI reported. Based on its preliminary findings, an FIR was registered on June 25, leading to the arrest of eight people associated with the donation-counting process.

The eight men arrested so far include Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Ram Shankar Yadav ‘Tinnu’, Manish Yadav, Subhash Srivastava, Avinash Shukla, Rama Shankar Mishra, and Karunesh Pandey. SECURITY FIRM SAYS SBI BRANCH SOUGHT 19 EMPLOYEES According to Hindustan Times, Sainik Security Services owner and director Gaurav Singh said the agency had been hired by the State Bank of India (SBI), Naya Ghat Branch in Ayodhya, for the cash-counting process linked to the Ram Temple Trust. Singh was quoted as saying that the local SBI branch itself recommended the names of 19 people who were later inducted into the cash-counting team. “Usually, it’s the corporate office that raises demand, but in this case, the local branch raised the demand for the 19 employees," Singh said. He further said, “In this case, the branch asked us to induct 19 of its previously deployed persons into our fold and provide them to the branch. We did so. The demand was raised by the local branch." According to the report, Singh said each of the 19 employees received around Rs 20,000 per month. He also outlined the company’s evolution, saying, “My father had founded it in the year 2000 as a proprietorship unit, then it grew and changed form into a partnership firm, and then turned into a private limited company subsequently in 2017. I became the director then." SBI SAYS IT IS COOPERATING WITH INVESTIGATION Responding to the developments, SBI said it was cooperating with the Special Investigation Team. In a statement quoted by Hindustan Times, the bank said it had been providing banking services to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust since the Pran Pratishtha ceremony in January 2024.