Champat Rai becomes government witness in Ram temple donation theft case
Police charge sheet reveals that the employees counting and sorting donations were involved in the theft.
In the case of the theft of donations at the Ram Temple, the chargesheet filed includes the former General Secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, Champat Rai, and former trustee Anil Kumar Mishra as witnesses for the prosecution. Following the allegations, both faced continuous attacks from the opposition, raising political questions. The chargesheet acknowledges that the theft of donations was carried out by employees involved in counting and sorting the notes. CCTV footage has been considered crucial evidence, which has been provided.
However, the remarkable thing is that no accused has been convicted in this case so far. In fact, the pace of the investigation and delays are making the entire matter increasingly suspicious. The formation of two SITs and then filing the chargesheet has taken a long time. It is evident that this entire matter will drag on until the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, and no results will emerge. This entire exercise is being conducted to protect the big fish.
In this case, the police have,
filed a chargesheet of 73,480 pages in the Faizabad District Court. It is noteworthy that the case of the theft of the donation amount first came to light on June 4, 2026. According to the chargesheet, an employee had seen other employees hiding the donation money in the counting room. Employee Anand Chaudhary informed the then Trust General Secretary Champat Rai and also sent a video. The video shows some employees hiding bundles of notes in their waists. Anand expressed suspicion that around 67 employees might be involved in the theft.
According to a report by Hindustan Times, on the day of the incident, i.e., June 4, Champat Rai was not in Ayodhya. On June 5, Champat reviewed the CCTV footage with Anil Mishra, Gopal Rao, and Dr. Narendra. Subsequently, the CCTV footage of the temple premises was examined. According to the police, 105 incidents related to the theft of donations were recorded by the cameras. Statements of 173 witnesses were recorded. In the chargesheet, the police presented evidence against 8 accused based on CCTV footage, digital evidence obtained from mobile phones, witness statements, cash deposits in bank accounts, property purchases, and recoveries. The former General Secretary of the Trust, Champat Rai, Dr. Anil Mishra, and Gopal Rao have been made witnesses, not accused.
It is noteworthy that in the initial part of the chargesheet filed on September 23 in the special anti-corruption court in Ayodhya, there are names of a total of 133 witnesses. These include Krishna Mohan, the then acting General Secretary of the Trust and the complainant in the case, and Gopal M. Nagarakatte, a former special invitee member of the Trust and a VHP official, also known as Gopal Rao.
Six employees responsible for counting the donations—Avinash Shukla alias Shani, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, and Ramashankar Mishra—have been made accused. Subhash Srivastava and Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu are two other accused.
During the period under investigation, Mishra and Rai held important positions in the Trust. Investigators had questioned both regarding the arrangement for handling the donations. Mishra's name also came up in the preliminary investigation of the first special investigation team led by Lucknow's Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant. Later, both resigned from their respective positions in the Trust. The Trust announced their resignations on June 27.
Based on the statements of these office bearers associated with the Trust, investigators detailed the process of collecting, counting, and depositing the donations in the bank. The case is linked to the allegation that some portion of the cash donations was withdrawn or hidden before being deposited in the bank during the counting process.
According to the chargesheet,
six counting employees were entrusted with the responsibility of sorting and counting the donations. Investigators allege that they misused their access to the cash and, along with two other accused, embezzled some portion of the donations.
According to the status report of the special investigation team presented before the Supreme Court,
the analysis of CCTV footage and other digital evidence revealed 105 incidents of notes being removed or hidden without permission within the counting room.
Investigators also examined bank accounts, property transactions, mobile phone data, and other electronic evidence. Following the filing of the FIR based on the complaint of Krishna Mohan, all eight accused were arrested on June 26, one day after the FIR was registered. The chargesheet was filed on September 23, just two days before the statutory deadline of September 25 related to the first arrests. The charges against all eight are claims by the prosecution, which will be heard during the trial.
The police have also described text messages obtained from mobile phones as crucial evidence. Messages related to holding, hiding, exchanging, and moving bundles of cash were found between Anukalp Mishra, Avinash Shukla, and Lavkush Mishra. CDR contains evidence of their conversations.
The police investigation revealed cash deposits in the accounts of several accused and their relatives, as well as information about purchasing land/houses, cars, bikes, cameras, and jewelry. The police have acknowledged that all these were purchased with the stolen money.
According to the chargesheet,
CCTV footage shows Avinash Shukla alias Sunny removing the donation amount himself 85 times and assisting other accused 4 times. It is claimed that ₹20.39 lakh, $4,424, silver-gold jewelry, and later a Brezza car were recovered based on his identification.
Accused Lavkush Mishra purchased land worth ₹22.52 lakh in the name of his wife Supriya Mishra with the stolen money and built a house on it for about ₹20.91 lakh. CCTV shows Lavkush removing the amount himself 4 times.
Investigators are looking into where the money for the house worth around ₹55 lakh bought in the name of Anukalp Mishra's father, Ravindra Mishra, came from. The investigation revealed ₹29.5 lakh was transferred via bank and ₹25 lakh was paid in cash to purchase the house.
The chargesheet alleges that Karunesh Pandey's wife Roopa had around ₹78.55 lakh deposited in her SBI account. Details of cash deposits in the accounts of his brother have also been provided. The police have seen Karunesh committing the crime himself twice on CCTV and assisting others 68 times.
Cash deposits of around ₹20.93 lakh were made in the bank accounts of Ramashankar Mishra and his relatives. Information about purchasing a plot for ₹42 lakh, a camera for ₹1.03 lakh, and jewelry was also found.
The chargesheet states that Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu has been associated with the counting and banking process of the Trust's donation amount for a long time. His accounts have seen deposits of ₹8.48 lakh. An Ertiga car, a Bullet motorcycle, and property worth ₹9.50 lakh have also been found.