Top News

Ram Temple Row: Police Raid Homes Of 8 Accused To Trace Money Trail; Families Questioned
Manoj Verma | June 28, 2026 3:11 PM CST

The investigation into the alleged misappropriation of donations at the Ram Temple has intensified, with Ayodhya Police questioning the family members of all eight arrested accused as part of efforts to trace the money trail.

An FIR was registered against the eight accused after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) submitted its preliminary report. All the named accused have been arrested and remanded to judicial custody till June 29.

On Saturday, police teams reached the residences of all the accused, including Manish Yadav, Tinnu Yadav, Anukalp Mishra and Avinash Shukla, to question their family members. Investigators are collecting details of the accused persons' properties, investments, jewellery and other assets from their family members to determine whether they possess wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income.

Police Reach Tinnu's Residence, Questioning Family For 30 Mins

Sources said the families of two accused, Tinnu and Manish Yadav, did not cooperate with the investigation. Police are expected to inform the court about any lack of cooperation from the accused's family members.

Police have been questioning Tinnu Yadav's family at his residence for the past 30 minutes. The search of the house and examination of household belongings are currently underway.

The searches are aimed at identifying financial links and tracking the flow of funds to establish whether other individuals may have been involved in the alleged misappropriation.

As part of the exercise, police are documenting details such as the value of assets owned by the accused, the nature of their residences, investments made over time and any jewellery or other valuables in their possession.

An independent government witness (Lekhpal) accompanied the police during the searches to ensure transparency in the process. Sources said the presence of an independent witness is intended to prevent allegations of evidence being planted or any procedural irregularities during the search operations.

SIT Flags Lapses In Standard Procedures

According to sources, the SIT's preliminary report pointed to several violations of standard operating procedures (SOPs) during the donation-counting process.

These include the absence of security guards during cash counting, failure to frisk personnel entering and exiting the counting room, and non-compliance with the requirement to preserve CCTV footage of the counting process for 180 days.

Champat Rai Resigns Amid Row

Following the controversy, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust General Secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra submitted their resignations, a development confirmed by the trust.

Sources said investigators have recovered around Rs 79.85 lakh along with some foreign currency from some of the eight accused named in the FIR.

Accused In Judicial Custody Till June 29

The arrested accused—Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lav Kush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ram Shankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ramashankar alias Tinnu Yadav—were all involved in counting cash donations and valuables offered at the temple.

Ayodhya Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gaurav Grover said the accused were arrested late on Thursday night and later produced before Special Remand Magistrate Nivedita Singh, who remanded them to judicial custody till June 29.

According to prosecution officer KC Verma, investigators have recovered ₹79.85 lakh during the probe so far.

Police May Seek Fresh Custody

Police are expected to produce the accused before the court again on Monday (June 29) and may seek their custodial remand for further questioning.

The case has been registered under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including charges of theft, possession of stolen property and criminal conspiracy.

The controversy began after a former Samajwadi Party MLA alleged on June 7 that donations at the Ram Temple had been misappropriated. The issue was later raised by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, following which the investigation gathered pace.

READ NEXT
Cancel OK