Ram Temple Trust Discloses Rs 3,264 Crore Donations Amid Embezzlement Probe

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on Monday said it has received Rs 3,264 crore through the Nidhi Samarpan campaign and corpus donations since its formation, of which Rs 2,370 crore has been spent on construction and religious activities.

In a statement issued after a trustees' meeting in Ayodhya, the Trust said it has Rs 582 crore in devotees' offerings till March 31, 2026, with Rs 391 crore spent on operational expenses, as it sought to reassure devotees amid an ongoing probe into alleged donation embezzlement.

The Trust also said 2,126 physical offerings have been registered and are verified annually by an independent chartered accountant. Silver offerings received from devotees have been melted into silver bricks at the India Government Mint, with proper documentation and purity certificates maintained.

The disclosures came as the Trust accepted the resignations of General Secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra, whose exit follows allegations of irregularities in the counting of devotees' offerings. Krishna Mohan has been appointed interim general secretary, while Gopal Nagarkote has been removed from the list of special invitee members.

The Trust said it had approached the Uttar Pradesh government for an impartial investigation after receiving information about irregularities in the donation-counting process, following which the state constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

"The trustees are deeply saddened and concerned over the irregularities in the counting of devotees' offerings," the Trust said, adding that the probe was initiated to establish responsibility and determine whether criminal proceedings are warranted.

Trust Treasurer Swami Govind Dev Giri Maharaj said the trustees will meet again on July 22, when they expect to receive the SIT's final report.

"We anticipate that the SIT's final report will be available by then... Theft is theft, and the SIT is investigating the matter," he said.

The SIT has been granted a 15-day extension to complete its investigation.

The Trust's disclosures came amid mounting political attacks over the alleged embezzlement. Congress leader Pawan Khera questioned the accountability of the Trust's leadership and alleged that the temple project has been closely monitored by the Prime Minister's Office and the RSS. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal said those responsible should face "strict punishment", while Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman called for criminal proceedings against Champat Rai.