Ayodhya Ram Mandir Donation Theft Uncovered: Employees Caught in Scandal
Donation Theft Scheme Exposed at Ayodhya's Ram Temple
A significant theft operation involving donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya has been uncovered. Officials from the trust grew suspicious about discrepancies in cash deposits, prompting them to install hidden cameras in the donation counting room. This covert surveillance revealed that employees were pilfering cash and jewelry from donation boxes during times when official accounting was not taking place. According to sources, these irregularities came to light in the last week of May when officials from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust reviewed the amounts being deposited in banks and compared them with the daily records from the donation boxes. Typically, each donation box contained around 7-8 lakh rupees, but officials noticed a consistent shortfall in bundles of 500 rupee notes over several weeks, raising their suspicions. To investigate further, hidden cameras were installed in the room where donations are counted and sorted.
CCTV Footage Reveals Employee Misconduct
After reviewing a week’s worth of footage from the hidden cameras, temple administration discovered that some employees involved in counting donations were deliberately obstructing the view of the CCTV cameras while their accomplices discreetly hid notes from prepared bundles in their clothing. Despite these attempts, the thefts were captured by the covert monitoring system. Investigators also uncovered another alleged method of theft, where cash-handling employees would insert extra notes into bundles during counting. Since banks typically only verify the number of bundles rather than each individual note, vouchers were created based on inflated counts. It is alleged that some notes were removed while transporting money from the temple to the bank, allowing the accused to pocket cash while ensuring that the deposited amounts matched official records.
Involvement of Key Individuals and Security Lapses
Sources indicate that one of the accused, Anukalp Mishra, who was responsible for preparing donation vouchers, allegedly orchestrated this fraud with the help of his brother-in-law, Lav Kush Mishra. During the investigation, police reportedly recovered around 10 lakh rupees in cash from Lav Kush Mishra's residence. Additionally, the inquiry revealed potential security flaws, as employees exiting the donation counting room were allegedly not subjected to any searches or checks, which may have facilitated prolonged thefts. Besides cash, jewelry donated by devotees was also reported stolen. Sources claim that items such as earrings, nose rings, bangles, and anklets were pilfered before being officially recorded in the temple's register.