Accused Fails to Explain Source of Massive Bank Deposits in Ram Temple Theft

Ayodhya:  The investigation into the multi-lakh donation theft at Ayodhya’s Ram Temple has intensified following a major breakthrough by the Special Investigation Team (SIT). During rigorous custodial interrogation, the eight arrested accused completely failed to explain the source of large sums of money recently deposited into their personal bank accounts.

The Ayodhya Police and the SIT are executing a comprehensive financial audit, having formally requested five years of transaction history, KYC documents, and deposit slips from seven different commercial banks. The scrutiny focuses on personal and salary accounts belonging to the accused, who were employed as outsourced staff to handle the cash-counting operations for the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.  

When confronted by investigators with transaction logs showing unusual, heavy cash inflows, the accused individuals offered evasive responses and failed to provide any legitimate source of income or financial backing to justify the wealth.

This development strongly reinforces the police's hypothesis that the funds are directly siphoned from the daily offerings made by millions of devotees.Law enforcement has already recovered nearly ₹80 lakh in cash directly from the accused, including ₹20.39 lakh from Avinash Shukla and ₹18.07 lakh from Karunesh Pandey. In addition to the domestic currency,

the SIT seized $1,121 USD, 11 grams of gold, and 375 grams of silver during ongoing raids.  The financial probe has expanded to include the bank accounts of close family members and associates.

Interestingly, since the arrests and the subsequent overhaul of the temple's cash-handling system—which now enforces pocketless uniforms and strict supervision—the temple's average daily recorded cash deposits have nearly doubled, jumping from ₹10-12 lakh to over ₹20-24 lakh per day.