A First Information Report (FIR) was filed on Thursday against eight named accused and other unidentified persons on the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust’s complaint regarding alleged misappropriation of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, pushing the controversy into the realm of criminal investigation.
This step comes under increasing political pressure and amid growing concern about allegations of the theft of worshippers’ offerings.
An FIR was registered at Ram Janmabhoomi police station in Ayodhya based on a complaint from Trust member Krishna Mohan. The move was taken after it emerged that the preliminary investigation by the state government-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) had recommended criminal action in the sensitive case. The initial report of the special investigation team was submitted to the state government on June 23.
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Who are all named in the FIR?
Senior police officials said the FIR names Rama Shankar Yadav alias Tinu, who is described as a close aide to the Trust’s general secretary Champat Rai, along with Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Luvkush Mishra, Subash Srivastava, Rama Shankar Mishra, Manish Yadav and Karunesh Pandey. Rama Shanker (Yadav Tinu) is a supervisor while the others work in counting money.
The case has been registered against the eight named accused and other unidentified persons under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 306, 316 (5), 317 (4), 317 (5), 61 and 3 (5), relating to offenses like criminal breach of trust, cheating, theft and criminal conspiracy, senior police officials said.
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The Trust’s decision to bring criminal proceedings represents the most serious turning point yet in a controversy that has so far been confined to allegations, internal audit and the SIT investigation.
This development also comes about 25 days after the issue was first raised by former Samajwadi Party MLA Tej Narayan Pandey aka Pawan Pandey.
What SIT said in its report
The Uttar Pradesh government constituted the three-member Special Investigation Team on June 13 at the request of the Fund. The team reached Ayodhya on June 15 and returned to Lucknow on June 20 after conducting its preliminary investigations.
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It is learned that he has submitted a report recommending registration of an FIR. The SIT comprises Lucknow District Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, Inspector General of Police (Lucknow Range) Kiran S, and Special Secretary (Finance) Neil Ratan.
“In the wake of the alleged theft of offerings and donations received by Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, the Trust has sought a special investigation into the matter. On the directions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the case. A fair investigation by SIT will reveal the truth and those convicted will not be spared,” a state government press release said.
Investigators examined the chain of custody of donations — from collection and counting boxes to storage, accounting, access control and monitoring — and prima facie irregularities in the handling of offerings made by worshipers at the shrine were reported, people familiar with the investigation said.
Now that the FIR has been lodged, the move will allow the police to summon and question suspects, scrutinize financial and banking records, seize electronic and documentary evidence, and make arrests, if necessary.
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The sources indicated that the investigation may expand in the coming days, focusing on the extent of the alleged embezzlement, the role of those with direct access to donations, and whether the trial ends with the eight defendants mentioned or extends beyond that.
The opposition attacks the government amid a dispute over donations
The opposition has intensified its attacks in recent days. The controversy also caused visible discomfort within parts of the Sangh fold.
On Wednesday, Alok Kumar, president of VHP International, publicly demanded that an FIR be lodged against those involved. He welcomed the registration of the FIR on Thursday.
“We welcome the announcement of the FIR and hope that the investigation will be expedited and the guilty will be brought to justice as soon as possible,” Kumar said, according to a PTI report.
No one from the Trust was available to comment on the development.
Reacting to the FIR, Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav posted on X, “The public believes that the FIR was lodged only after all the evidence was cleared under the guise of a special investigation, and decisions had already been made about which ‘big fish’ to protect and who to implicate.”
“It appears that the SIT had most likely delivered a pre-prepared report and conducted the investigation accordingly – meaning the outcome had already been pre-determined,” Akhilesh Yadav wrote.
Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai said the FIR has no meaning unless it mentions the names of the people in the box. He added that people who donated statues, goods worth crores of rupees but did not get a receipt, blame Champat Rai and others in the trust and not the employees working in Ayodhya.
Ashok Pandey, state BJP spokesperson, said: “As the Chief Minister has confirmed, an FIR has been lodged in the case. The Chief Minister has categorically stated that no one will be spared and strict action will be taken. The Special Investigation Squad will also submit its final report to the state government soon.”
