Theft In the Temple

IT BEGAN WITH the detection of a bag filled with coins in a toilet in the Ram Mandir complex not far from where daily cash donations are counted. An examination of the bag revealed coins amounting to more than `2 lakh and alarmed temple trust officials urgently examined the CCTV record. The feed revealed a much more serious situation as people employed to count stacks of currency and coins were seen tucking notes in waistbands and socks, appar­ently with a sense of immunity. Purloining coins in bulk was a profitable option too, given the volumes dropped by devotees in collection boxes placed around the temple complex.

Former Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai—who quit after the theft came to light— informed other members, mostly religious figures, a day after the initial complaint of wrongdoing was received on June 4. Rai, who was himself questioned by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), brought into the counting room employees who included his confidant Ram Shankar Yadav or ‘Tinnu’ Yadav, who had been entrusted with supervising the donation counting rooms and who is seen as a key conspirator along with Anukalp Mishra. In all, eight individuals involved in the counting process have been arrested while Rai, who along with another trust member Anil Mishra oversaw the day-to-day administration at the Ram Mandir, has been interrogated as investigators sought to assess just how deep the rot runs.

Under pressure to confess, the accused disgorged close to `80 lakh in cash and admitted they had succumbed to the easy prospect of skimming cash from the donations and reporting a smaller account in the record. Apart from cash, devotees moved by faith deposit rings, necklaces and earrings in the collection boxes too. What happened to these valuables is a matter of con­jecture. More than 40 people are involved in the counting as teams work in shifts; those who have not been arrested are not yet in the clear. Sources said these people could hardly have been unaware of the notes and coins being misappropriated. Their silence can suggest complicity and their residences and bank accounts, either in their own names or those of close relatives, and undeclared ones too, are being scrutinised by Uttar Pradesh Police.

Periodic erasure of CCTV recordings is posing a hurdle to uncov­ering the full extent of the scandal but the apparently brazen man­ner in which money was being defalcated suggests the accused were confident they would not be detected. People responsible for monitoring the camera feed and employees of the State Bank of India (SBI), which received the collections, are being investigated. The entire process of counting and deposit smacks of ad hoc meth­ods and an absence of a formal and accountable system. Just how far back the theft of donations goes is not easy to assess but at least one of the accused had operated an account in the name of his wife since late last year. The account received a few lakh rupees every month, well in excess of the salaries paid to cash counters or, in this case, earnings of the concerned family member.

The informal manner in which the temple authorities conducted affairs relating to collection and deposit of cash dona­tions was an invitation to human cupidity. It was, in the words of an official aware of the happenings, an accident foretold. Soon after the Ram Mandir was handed to the trust, many functions were run by ‘volunteers’ not on any payroll. This was, according to people familiar with Rai’s methods, typical of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) veteran who has the air of a know-all. The system ran on in­formal personal relations and trust more suited to a much smaller enterprise than one where crores of rupees in cash and material donations is involved. The cash discoveries led to an urgent audit of precious metals like silver and gold bricks and jewellery received as donation. Officials breathed a sigh of relief when informed by auditors that no discrepancy had been detected. With less than a crore of rupees recovered, investigators feel the embezzlement may run into several crores and will need a thorough probe.

ALOK KUMAR, VHP’s working president, has called for a speedy and timebound investigation and pointed to the resignations of Rai and Mishra as intended to al­lay suspicions that the probe will not be fair. “The VHP wants the investigation to proceed, a trial held on a daily basis and a conclusion in four-five months. In the meanwhile, a formal sys­tem of administration at the temple with the appointment of a CEO to manage administrative matters is urgently needed. This is required to reassure devotees and will be an act of prayaschit (atonement),” Kumar told Open. He said any technology required to make the donation and other processes transparent and se­cure will be acquired once a comprehensive audit is conducted. A meeting of trustees is due soon and will take stock of what has happened and consider correctives to ensure no scandal takes place in future. He refuted criticism that the trust had become a money-minded enterprise, saying allegations levelled by political parties and leaders opposed to the Ram temple, and who have not visited the complex to pay obeisance to Lord Ram, do not enjoy public credibility. “Jawaharlal Nehru did his best to remove the idol of Ram Lalla after it appeared in 1948. That was not the end of the matter. When UPA was in office, the government submit­ted an affidavit that Lord Ram was a ‘mythical’ figure. Parties like Congress have no credibility,” Kumar said.

The donation thefts, admit Sangh Parivar insiders, is a deep embarrassment and a blow to the Hindutva movement as VHP was at the forefront of the agitation for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya. The temple movement had to overcome several hurdles, beginning with widespread disbelief in VHP’s case that the Babri Masjid had been built by razing a Ram temple that stood at a site believed to be the Lord’s birthplace. The view that VHP’s claims were unsubstantiated and its demand for a temple at Ayodhya was infused with majoritarian sentiments and an “anti-Muslim” character was widely held. Battling elite bias and mobilising public support took VHP decades of effort and the demolition of the Babri mosque on December 6, 1992 was a big setback. The act of demolition by assembled karsevaks isolated VHP and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) though in the long run—when excavation of the site finally revealed remains of an ancient temple and exposed the fabrications of Ram Man­dir opponents—the debate turned in favour of the Sangh Pari­var. Earlier, the firing on karsevaks at Ayodhya ordered by the Mulayam Singh Yadav government in 1990 had left the move­ment at one of its lowest points. VHP leader and architect of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement Ashok Singhal went ahead with the purchase of land for a workshop, which came to be known as Karsevakpuram, and shipped in masonry for the promised temple. A VHP leader said this was not just a bid to boost morale; Singhal believed the Ram Mandir would one day become reality.

VHP leaders and trust officials hope popular faith in the temple and its administration will be restored once the accused are arraigned in court and a chargesheet is filed. A series of mea­sures to ensure security and transparency, which include a retired senior police official being appointed as vigilance officer, will help convey that the trust has taken note of the lapses and acted without delay. The Modi government has held the Ram Mandir to be a “national project” of cultural and religious reawakening and many of the hundreds of devotees who throng the temple daily are of modest means. At the same time, thousands of people of Indian origin living abroad have made the temple an object of pilgrimage, often accompanied by elderly relatives. The over­haul being considered includes a formalisation of the upkeep of temple premises, including repair works and onboarding of vendors, a standard practice that is not followed.

When the donation thefts became public on June 7, a public outcry followed with Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav attacking BJP and VHP. “After the SIT’s report, things are com­ing to the forefront—the SIT is accepting that by turning off the CCTV, the offerings that came in have been subjected to a scam on a massive scale,” he said and alleged the faith of millions had been tampered with. He promised that if SP is elected to office next year in UP, Ayodhya will be developed as a “Siyaram Dham” and will be an exemplary religious and tourist destination. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath countered Yadav, saying Ayodhya has already been developed and that this had not happened when SP was in office and recalled the opposition party’s objections to the Ram Mandir movement. He asked Yadav to pledge sup­port for the cause of Krishna Janmabhoomi and the full restora­tion of the Kashi Vishwanath temple. Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said what has come to light is not just theft of donations but a grave sin that has hurt the sentiments of Hindus. BJP has countered, arguing Congress leaders have never visited the Ram Mandir and were conspicuous by their absence during the historic installation (pranapratistha) of the idol of ‘Bal’ Ram in January 2024. In fact, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi refused to receive the invitation from VHP leaders.

With the UP elections due in February approaching fast, the political exchanges carried an added sting, though whether the unsavoury incident does impact BJP’s prospects depends on how credibly the investigation unfolds. There is intense speculation about the involvement of senior figures associated with the temple trust and much also depends on the correctives that are put in place. Hindu mobilisation has been a key element of BJP’s outreach with the non-forward castes and this has delivered re­sults with Other Backward Classes (OBCs) considering the party in a favourable light. SP mounted a successful challenge in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls with its alliance winning more seats than BJP and since then Akhilesh Yadav has prioritised the Pichada- Dalit-Alpasankhyak (PDA) as a winning combination. But he will have to tread carefully as OBCs and several Dalit castes are avid votaries of the Ram Mandir and SP’s record on this score is poor. Harping on the issue can provide BJP an opportunity to re­vive public memory about SP’s past disdain for the Ram Janmab­hoomi movement and its pursuit of Muslim votes. Wooing Ram bhakts by arguing their trust has been betrayed and the Muslim vote at the same time can be tricky.

The temple trust received vast donations in cash and kind dur­ing the construction and the complex is now close to completion. More than `1,800 crore of `3,000 crore received by way of public donations lies with the trust and the interest on the amount will fund not just upkeep but much more. Reports of wasteful ex­penditure had been doing the rounds for some time with money splurged on procurement of everyday items like flowers and other material used for rituals. A clannish and matey way of running a family store or enterprise is hardly appropriate for a religious institution that commands the faith of billions. The hard landing was avoidable but restoring order is a priority.