Ram temple donation scam has exposed weak cash safeguar
SIT flagged systemic failures in cash handling and oversight.
Other temples follow tighter CCTV, audit and committee controls.
Ram Mandir Donation Safeguards Lag Behind Compared to Other Major UP Temples
Special Investigation Team probing the alleged embezzlement concluded in its preliminary findings that the suspected fraud reflected systemic failures and not merely individual misconduct
Summary
The alleged donation scam at the Ram temple in Ayodhya has brought the temple’s cash management system under scrutiny, with investigators flagging serious gaps in cash handling, security protocols and institutional oversight.
The temple received ₹82.78 crore in offerings within 11 months and administers trust funds worth thousands of crores. Special Investigation Team probing the alleged embezzlement concluded in its preliminary findings that the suspected fraud reflected systemic failures and not merely individual misconduct.
A comparison by Hindustan Times with three of Uttar Pradesh’s largest temple trusts, Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura and Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan, showed that these temples have stronger financial safeguards in place.
SIT Findings
According to the report, cash collected from around 40 donation boxes at the Ram temple passed through multiple manual stages, including collection, transportation, sorting, counting, bundling, sealing and bank deposit. The SIT found that these processes lacked adequate segregation of duties and independent verification.
Investigators also questioned alleged violations of standard operating procedures, including the failure to enforce mandatory pocketless uniforms for personnel handling cash. The probe further questioned why frisking of cash handlers was assigned to a private security agency instead of police or another government security force.
How Other UP Temples Compare
The HT report said other major temple trusts in Uttar Pradesh have institutionalised stronger systems of financial accountability, including magistrate-supervised counting, CCTV-monitored cash handling, documented audit trails, collective oversight and prompt banking of donations.
At Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura, donations are accepted through three permanently manned receipt counters operating under CCTV surveillance. At Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan, donation management is overseen by a high-powered committee constituted under Supreme Court directions and headed by a retired Allahabad High Court judge.
The comparison has put the Ram temple’s donation handling practices in sharper focus, especially given the scale of offerings and trust funds handled by the temple.
Advertisement
Police Detain Ajay Rai
Meanwhile, the Police has placed Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai under house arrest at a guest house in Acharya Narendra Dev University and took him into custody ahead of a planned visit to the temple.
he action prevented a scheduled visit by a Congress delegation led by Rai to raise issues regarding the alleged misappropriation of temple donations.
His wife, Reena Rai, released a video statement late Monday night expressing concern for his safety. Ayodhya Police have not issued an official response yet.
"Today, when he was staying at a hotel in Ayodhya, he was taken into custody. We have not been informed where he has been taken. The family is worried, and we fear for his safety," she said.
Published At: