An FIR has been filed against eight identified individuals and several unknown persons in connection with the alleged misappropriation of donations meant for the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The case was registered following recommendations made in the preliminary report of a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The complaint was lodged at the Ram Janmabhoomi Police Station by Shri Krishna Mohan, a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
According to sources, the FIR names Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Manish Yadav, Ramashankar Mishra, Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu, Subhash Chandra, Karunesh Pandey, and another accused whose identity is yet to be disclosed. Several unidentified individuals have also been booked.
The charges reportedly involve deliberate theft, repeated theft, aiding theft, and criminal breach of trust by a public servant or employee of an institution, carried out as part of a criminal conspiracy. The case has also been registered under provisions related to embezzlement, cheating, and conspiracy.
Acting on the SIT’s recommendations, the Uttar Pradesh government directed that the case be registered under Sections 306, 316(5), 317(4), 317(5), 61, and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Sources further stated that all eight named accused have been detained, and the allegedly misappropriated funds have been recovered from them.
The SIT was formed by the Uttar Pradesh government on June 13 after the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust requested an investigation into allegations of misuse of donations received at the Ram Temple.
The matter attracted political attention when Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, on June 7, referred to reports claiming that donations worth crores of rupees were missing from the temple and called upon the courts to take note of the issue.
Responding to these allegations, VHP leader Alok Kumar accused the Samajwadi Party and the Congress of attempting to gain political advantage from the controversy ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. He also remarked that the world was watching and referenced the role of the Samajwadi Party government during the Ram Mandir movement.
