Ayodhya Ram Temple donation case: SIT names Avinash Shukla as prime accused

A preliminary SIT report has identified Avinash Shukla as the prime accused in the alleged theft of offerings from devotees at the Ram Temple here and linked him to a 40-day suspected racket involving around 70 cases of theft from the donation counting system, sources said on Wednesday.

Sources associated with the temple said the provisional findings of the three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) were discussed in a meeting of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Foundation on Monday.

According to the preliminary report, Shukla, who was assigned to count cash offerings from devotees at the temple, was named as accused number 1 after investigators found what they described as the strongest evidence against him.

The report said the alleged operation took place around Shukla and helped investigators identify five other accused and reconstruct the suspicious modus operandi in the temple’s counting room.

The nine-page report submitted to Uttar Pradesh Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Sanjay Prasad on June 23 identified the 30-year-old as the focus of the investigation, sources said.

The SIT added that, prima facie, it has detected around 70 cases of alleged theft from the temple’s counting room in a period of about 40 days.

According to sources, repeated scrutiny of CCTV footage has shown that Shukla allegedly lifted and concealed bundles of donation money and loose currency notes during counting operations on several occasions.

Investigators are said to rely heavily on the footage to track the movement of money and determine the alleged roles of other participants.

The report stated that the evidence against Shukla was supported by CCTV footage, recovery records, bank account analysis and witness statements, making Shukla the first among the six accused who was prima facie found to be involved in the incident.

According to sources, the footage also allegedly shows Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra and Karunesh Pandey helping Shukla in hiding and removing the donation money, while Manish Kumar Yadav coordinated with him in the counting room.

They added that separate footage provided by temple trust representatives allegedly showed Rama Shankar Mishra handling and concealing cash packages.

Sources said that based on the materials examined so far, the SIT has concluded that all the six accused are prima facie involved in the incident.

The investigation went beyond CCTV footage. During searches conducted by Ayodhya police, investigators seized Rs 20.39 crore in cash, US$ 1,121, gold and silver ornaments, other valuables and an SUV from Shukla’s possession; This was the largest recovery from the accused arrested in the case, according to the report.

Investigators also found cash deposits and bank transactions allegedly disproportionate to Shukla’s known income.

The report stated that the staff hired by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Foundation to count donations received a monthly take-home salary of just over Rs 15,000 after deductions, while Shukla’s banking activity before his arrest was considerably higher than his known earnings.

Shukla was also the first accused to be arrested by the police during the investigation. Sources said that when the police searched his house, they found a donation box with the words “Ramrajya Kosh” written on it and an active QR code on it.

Sources added that the police also searched his residence in Pratapgarh district and inspected his properties there, as well as his financial transactions and cash holdings from the last few years.

The case came to light following allegations of theft of donations from devotees at the Ram Temple.

So far, eight people have been arrested in connection with the case: Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Rama Shankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Rama Shankar alias Tinnu.

A local court on Monday ordered one-day police remand for Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra and Karunesh Pandey after investigators told the court that new evidence emerged during the interrogation of the five accused who were detained earlier.

According to the police, compensation in excess of Rs 79 lakh has been received so far from the accused except Subhash Srivastava, whom investigators continue to probe as part of the alleged conspiracy.

The Uttar Pradesh government constituted a three-member SIT to investigate the case. The probe has since gone beyond the original FIR.

The team has also ordered a re-audit of the trust’s accounts for the past five years and is reviewing expenses related to major events over the past two years.

It flagged allegations of security and procedural deficiencies in the temple’s endowment management system, including inadequate searches of staff, poor CCTV monitoring and weak audit mechanisms; Investigators believe it enabled the alleged repeated withdrawal of cash without immediate detection.

The SIT is also examining the role of officials responsible for overseeing the donation counting process.

It was published – 08 July 2026 14:56 IST