Ram Temple Episode

June 29, 2026

~Abhishek Vij

The Shri Ram Temple in Ayodhya is a great center of faith for devotees living in India and abroad. For ages, the most virtuous person, Shri Ram, has been inspiring humanity with ideals. His birthplace, Ayodhya, is a center of worship not only for Hindus but also for people of other religions. Following the demolition of the Babri Masjid, the Ram Mandir Trust, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s decision, constructed the magnificent Shri Ram Temple with the help of donations from devout devotees and transformed the entire Ayodhya, an exemplary achievement in itself.

But now, the people of the country are shocked and their faith has been shattered when they learn that the offerings they devoutly make to the temple have been stolen. Devotees offer gold, silver jewelry, sandals, and ornaments, in addition to money. When complaints of theft began to surface, a hidden CCTV camera was installed without anyone’s knowledge. This hidden camera revealed the devastating revelation that the offerings were being stolen systematically. In May alone, at least 70 attempts were made to steal. The first accusation was leveled against those who counted the offerings. It was reported that those who count the offerings are searched first, but are not searched when they return. Due to this negligence, crores of rupees were misappropriated. Devotees also complained that they had offered jewellery, footwear and precious metals worth crores of rupees at the feet of the Lord but were not even given a receipt. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut also said that his party had offered jewellery worth Rs 1 crore but was not given a receipt. It was the responsibility of the trustees to monitor this. Trustee Nripendra Mishra said that the theft and fraud could be worth thousands of crores of rupees. As soon as the matter reached Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, he appointed an SIT. Yogi had promised that action would be taken as soon as the investigation was completed and the truth would be revealed. The investigation period was for 15 days, but eight days later, as soon as the first report arrived, eight people were arrested. However, none of these were high-ranking officials. They were mostly donation counters or close associates of the main trustees. In the first raid, approximately Rs 79.85 lakh was recovered from seven of the eight accused.

It was said that this was a small portion of the total donation theft, and that only small fish were targeted. An investigation should also be conducted to determine who the mastermind behind this was. As discussions began, Ram Temple Trust General Secretary Champat Rai and trustee Dr. Anil Mishra resigned.

There are demands for a more thorough investigation into the matter and for the recovery of all the lost money. Undoubtedly, the faith of the people of the country has been hurt by this incident. In this secular nation, there are also rising demands that the huge donations at every religious place be monitored. The makers of society and the nation’s destiny should, together with religious leaders, decide to put the wealth stored in these religious places to some productive use. It would be great if a committed and honest harmony emerged between religion, society, and politics for the development of the country.