India

Investigation into Misappropriation of Temple Donations

Thursday, July 2, 2026
5 min read
Investigation into Misappropriation of Temple Donations

Champat Rai, the former General Secretary of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust , was being questioned by the police about the alleged misappropriation of temple donations. He defended himself in the questioning, insisting he wasn't involved in any theft.

He claimed he actually uncovered the whole thing. How? By installing hidden surveillance cameras to catch the thieves. "I was betrayed," Rai told investigators. "It was I who put those cameras in place to catch the theft." That’s what he said during his questioning.

This statement comes while the Special Investigation Team is still digging into this huge controversy surrounding the Ram Temple since it started. Things are moving, slowly but surely.

Police separately spoke to Champat Rai and another Trust member, Anil Mishra. What they asked for was a look at how donations were handled. The donation procedures. Financial records.

Rai was questioned about what happened after the theft became known. About the whole counting system. How the Trust reacted internally. It’s all tangled up there.

Right now, the police are treating Rai like a key witness. He hasn't been named in the FIR yet. They are looking at whether the rules for handling donations were broken. Whether the safety measures they had were even adequate.

Rai’s claim fits with what started happening early on. There was some indication of trouble before everything blew up.

Investigation sources mentioned that Trust officials started noticing things were off. They saw repeated mismatches between the money coming in and what ended up in the bank accounts. To check if money was being taken during the counting, they reportedly put hidden cameras inside the donation room.

That surveillance footage allegedly caught employees stealing cash and jewelry before anything official happened. It gave investigators some initial proof of this whole racket.

Police think that footage eventually helped them pinpoint some of the people involved.

Even with Rai denying any wrongdoing, the pressure on the former leadership just keeps building up. On Wednesday, lawyers from the Faizabad Bar Association were scheduled to march over to the Ram Janmabhoomi Police Station around eleven in the morning. They wanted to file a complaint specifically naming Champat Rai.

They also planned to name Trust member Anil Mishra and Dr Gopal Rao in that complaint.

The lawyers made it clear. If the police refuse to register an FIR, they won't stop there. They said they would go straight to court for directions. And they warned of agitation if no criminal case is filed against these three people.

This move feels like a fresh escalation. Even though investigators haven't officially named Rai or Mishra as accused in the initial FIR yet.

The investigation itself has uncovered something pretty grim. The police describe it as an operation that was executed right inside one of the country’s most sacred religious places.

Investigators suggested that the employees used blind spots in the CCTV network while they were handling donations in the counting room. During their questioning, one of the arrested people reportedly admitted to hiding stolen cash in washrooms before taking it out later. This was done to avoid suspicion during routine checks.

There are also questions being examined about the cameras themselves. Were there periods when footage wasn't available? Or wasn't it kept properly according to rules? The Trust insists they reacted immediately once irregularities were spotted. It’s all very messy, you know.

Written by Gree News Team — Senior Editorial Board

Gree News Team covers international news and global affairs at Gree News. Our collective of senior editors is dedicated to providing independent, accurate, and responsible journalism for a global audience.

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