The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra (Trust) began recovering allegedly embezzled donations days before any FIR was filed, a timeline reconstructed by Times Now shows a sequence investigators are now examining.
Action began in the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya days before it officially surfaced. According to sources, Trust General Secretary Champat Rai, who has since resigned, first received information about the suspected donation theft on June 3- 4.
Following an internal verification, Trust officials, along with police, reached the residence of the accused on June 5, where nearly rupees 58 lakhs was recovered. In the CCTV footage, accessed by Times Now, Avinash Shukla can be seen being taken away by the officials.
Sources say the remaining amount was returned by the accused through their bank accounts over the following days.
The case surfaced publicly only later in June, after allegations of misappropriation gathered momentum.
The First Information Report, registered on the written complaint of newly appointed trustee Krishna Mohan — followed the preliminary findings of a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government.
Timeline as reconstructed by Times Now
June 4: Information about the alleged theft reaches the Trust.
June 5: Around Rs 58 lakh was recovered from the accused’s premises following a raid.
June 6-8: Remaining amount returned through bank accounts.
Investigators are now examining why recoveries were made before any formal complaint was lodged, and whether there were procedural lapses in the initial ‘handling’ of the case.
The SIT, headed by Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, was constituted at the Trust’s request and submitted its preliminary report to the state government, flagging lapses in how donations were handled. The FIR was registered on June 25 under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including 306, 316(5), 317(4), 317(5), 61 and 3(5). Eight people were named, and the case was filed on the directions of the Uttar Pradesh government.
Police arrested all eight accused on Friday, a day after the case was registered, and said they recovered Rs 79.80 lakh from seven of them; nothing was recovered from one accused, Subhash Srivastav, who police allege was part of the conspiracy. The eight are Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastav and Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav.
All eight accused arrested in connection with the alleged embezzlement were on Monday remanded to 14 days judicial custody by a local court.
The accused were produced before Special Judge, Anti Corruption Court, Rajat Verma, through video conferencing after their earlier judicial custody expired, Special Prosecution Officer Umesh Dubey said. Police did not apply for the custody of the accused, he added.
Earlier, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra (Trust) in an official press statement, the Trust said, “We are shocked, hurt, and deeply saddened by the incidents reported over the past few days regarding the Shri Ram Mandir (Ayodhya). We are committed to ensuring a fair investigation and reassuring the devotees.”
The Trust also announced that it had received the resignations of Champat Rai, general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra (Trust), and Trustee Anil Mishra.