Ayodhya Ram Temple Theft: How a Handful of ₹500 Notes Led to a ₹2 Crore Scam

What allegedly began with a few ₹500 notes hidden inside clothing eventually snowballed into a multi-crore embezzlement racket at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, according to investigators probing the theft of devotees’ donations.

Sources said the accused exploited lapses in CCTV monitoring to carry out the thefts over an extended period. Investigators found that the surveillance control room was often left unattended, creating opportunities for the accused to remove cash from the temple’s donation collections without attracting attention.

During interrogation, the arrested accused allegedly told police that six temple employees began stealing donations within two to three months of joining their jobs.

According to sources, the thefts initially involved concealing one or two ₹500 notes inside their clothes before leaving the premises. When no action was taken and the thefts went undetected, the group allegedly became increasingly bold, graduating from small amounts of cash to entire bundles of currency.

Police claim the accused have admitted to collectively siphoning off nearly ₹2-3 crore from temple donations over time.

The probe has also revealed that seven of the arrested accused allegedly used part of the stolen money to purchase properties in Ayodhya and other locations. Investigators are now scrutinising these transactions to determine the extent of the alleged money trail and identify assets acquired through the proceeds of the crime.

As part of the investigation, searches conducted around June 4 and 5 reportedly led to the recovery of nearly ₹79 lakh in cash, besides jewellery suspected to be linked to the alleged embezzlement. Officials said additional cash was recovered during follow-up searches after the arrests.

The recovered jewellery is currently being verified. Investigators said the ornaments will be returned if the accused or their family members are able to produce valid purchase documents or establish that they were received as legitimate gifts. If no satisfactory proof is furnished, the jewellery will be treated as suspected stolen property and included in the ongoing investigation.

Police are continuing to examine the full scale of the alleged embezzlement, including whether more people were involved and if additional assets were acquired using the allegedly misappropriated temple funds.