AYODHYA/LUCKNOW: An exact estimate of the amount stolen from donation boxes of the Ram temple is not only difficult but next to impossible.Sources familiar with the donation theft case told TOI that at least four out of the eight arrested accused who were directly involved in the embezzlement of donation, used to work at the Ram temple much before Sainik Security Services, a private agency hired by the State Bank of India to manage cash, got on board.The four accused – Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra and Karunesh Pandey – were roped in along with many other volunteers during the Maha Kumbh 2025 when excess money started landing in the ‘hundis’ of Ram temple.As manpower required for the job was not available immediately with SBI, the Trust officials started identifying volunteers who had delivered positive results while handling important events and programmes in the past.“Anukalp Mishra was involved in key events, including the flag hoisting ceremony atop the ‘shikhar’, first and second anniversary celebrations, and Deepotsav. With time, he became a regular face in important meetings and gained the trust of Champat Rai and Anil Mishra,” a source said.He said that with time, Anukalp got the opportunity to introduce his acquaintances to the Trust’s office bearers and facilitated their appointment much before the cash counting work was distributed during Maha Kumbh last year.Having been associated with saffron organisations for decades, office bearers and administrators of the Trust went by their hunch while deputing volunteers for counting cash.It has now emerged that these four accused got involved with the Ram temple work ahead of the cash counting assignment.Sainik Security Services, the Varanasi-based private agency roped in to manage cash collected from donation boxes, was introduced at a later stage and volunteers who were already handling cash, were deputed along with 40 more youths as counting agents by the company.Out of around Rs 80 lakh that has been recovered from the accused, the highest amount of Rs 20.39 lakh and jewellery were recovered from Avinash Shukla, followed by Rs 18.63 lakh from Karunesh Pandey, Rs 16.82 lakh from Anukalp Mishra and Rs 14.25 lakh from Lavkush Mishra.A total of Rs 7.32 lakh was recovered from Ramashankar Mishra and Rs 2 lakh from Manish Yadav.Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu and Subhash Srivastava, the remaining two arrested individuals, were not directly involved in counting.Corroborating what was revealed by an insider associated with the temple, the police probes have also hinged on the group of four as police were interested in seeking the remand of Avinash, Anukalp, Lavkush and Karunesh.“The donation theft case is an example of moral turpitude. Just like any other govt or private organisation, power and greed corrupt some people who exploit loopholes. Surrounded by cash, their values deteriorate with time,” said advocate Pranshu Agarwal who has been closely following the sequence of events.“Office bearers of the Trust and the bank should certainly be blamed for negligence and laxity and should face action for being casual while dealing with important matters. Absence of internal control and checks abetted the crime,” he said.“Due to this, determining the exact amount of stolen money as well as the time duration of the act cannot be ascertained,” Agarwal added.
