Lucknow: The ongoing row over alleged embezzlement of donations received at Ram temple in Ayodhya intensified Friday after Uttar Pradesh Police arrested eight individuals including Ramashankar Yadav, said to be a close aide of Champat Rai, general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. The arrests were made on the basis of an FIR registered the previous night naming eight individuals.
Other than Yadav, the FIR names Anukalp Mishra, Avinash Shukla, Karunesh Pandey, Manish Yadav, Lavkush Mishra, Ramashankar Mishra and Subhash Chandra Srivastava.
Among the accused are members of the team involved in the counting and transportation of donations received at the temple, besides unidentified persons, indicating that more names could be added to the FIR if new evidence emerges at a later stage.
A senior UP Police official told ThePrint on condition of anonymity that the FIR was registered under sections 306 (theft by clerk or servant of property in possession of employer), 316 (criminal breach of trust), 317 (transfer of property by theft, extortion, robbery or cheating) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Prosecution Officer K.C. Verma was quoted as saying by news agency PTI that so far the investigators have recovered Rs 79.85 lakh during the probe.
ThePrint looks at the eight individuals named in the FIR.
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Ramashankar Yadav
Ram Temple Trust functionaries ThePrint spoke to said Ramashankar Yadav alias ‘Tinnu Yadav’ was Champat Rai’s driver and close aide before he eventually joined the team that manages day-to-day affairs at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
In the FIR registered Thursday night, Yadav has been identified as the person supervising transportation of cash received at donation boxes placed inside the temple premises to the basement for counting, UP Police sources told ThePrint. Yadav also stands accused of acquiring properties in Ayodhya and nearby districts using embezzled funds.
Luvkush and Anukalp Mishra
Lavkush Mishra, a member of the team responsible for counting and recording the donations, has been accused of exploiting the process. Around Rs 12 lakh was recovered from Mishra’s residence during searches, it is learnt. The source of funds is being verified.
UP Police sources said Mishra became a part of the temple administration on the recommendation of Dr Anil Mishra, a member of the Ram Temple Trust.
Anukalp Mishra, who also worked in the temple basement where donations were counted, has been accused of allegedly removing cash during the counting process and misusing the funds. He is a distant relative of Luvkush Mishra.
Subash Srivastava
Subhash Chandra Srivastava, a retired banker, was overseeing the counting and transportation of donations received at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
The FIR accuses him of negligence and embezzlement.
Avinash Shukla, Karunesh Pandey & Manish Yadav
Avinash Shukla and Manish Yadav, both involved in transporting donations received at the temple and assisting with the counting, have been accused of embezzling donations.
Manish Kumar Yadav, another member of the team responsible for counting the donations, is considered close to ‘Tinnu Yadav’.
UP Police sources said around Rs 36 lakh in cash was recovered from his residence during the investigation. The source of the funds is being verified.
Complainant in Ram Temple donation theft case
The complaint that led to the FIR was filed by Krishna Mohan, a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. He was inducted into the Trust on 9 September, 2025, following the death of trustee Kameshwar Chaupal.
Originally from Hardoi district in UP, Mohan is a retired Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of the Maharashtra cadre. He completed his MSc from Lucknow University and joined the IFS in 1978. During his posting in Nagpur, he was closely associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Since retiring in 2012, he has been involved in social work.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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