Ayodhya: Former Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai has been cleared of involvement in the alleged theft of donations from the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, according to the first report submitted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case.
The SIT report, examined by the Uttar Pradesh Home Department, does not name Rai or former trust member Anil Mishra in connection with the alleged irregularities. The report has subsequently been forwarded to the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for further action.
Rai and Mishra had resigned from their positions in the temple trust on June 27, amid the ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities in the handling of temple donations.
The first SIT was constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government on June 13 following a request from the temple trust and directions from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. It was headed by Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, with Inspector General of Police (Lucknow Range) Kiran S and Special Secretary (Finance) Neel Ratan Kumar as members.
The team submitted its preliminary report on June 23, following which an FIR was registered in Ayodhya on June 25. The investigation examined the entire donation-management process, including collection, counting, storage, accounting, access control and CCTV surveillance.
The preliminary inquiry had found that cash thefts allegedly occurred around 70 times in the counting room between April 27 and June 5. CCTV footage reportedly showed employees concealing and taking away cash. Investigators also flagged alleged violations of the standard operating procedures jointly followed by the trust and the State Bank of India, including inadequate frisking at entry and exit points.
Eight people named in the FIR, Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu, have been arrested and remain in jail.
The controversy emerged on June 7 after Samajwadi Party leader Tej Narayan ‘Pawan’ Pandey alleged that ₹5 crore to ₹7.5 crore from temple offerings had been siphoned off. The subsequent probe identified prima facie irregularities in the handling of cash and valuables.
Meanwhile, a second SIT, constituted under the supervision of the Supreme Court and headed by IG Kiran S, is continuing its investigation into the case.
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, established after the Supreme Court’s 2019 Ayodhya verdict, reportedly received ₹82.78 crore in donations between April 2025 and February 2026.
