All posts tagged: donation

Ram temple donation theft probe: Court grants 39-hour police custody of Tinnu Yadav, nephew

Ram temple donation theft probe: Court grants 39-hour police custody of Tinnu Yadav, nephew

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A special court in Ayodhya on Friday granted the police 39 hours’ custody remand of Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav and his nephew Manish Yadav, the last two accused yet to undergo custodial interrogation in the alleged Ram temple donation theft case. Ram Shankar ‘Tinnu’ Yadav after his arrest last month. (FILE PHOTO) Police officials said the two accused will be taken into custody from the Ayodhya district jail on Saturday morning, after which investigators will begin what is expected to be the final phase of custodial interrogation before completing the investigation and filing the chargesheet. Tinnu Yadav, considered a key accused in the case, was regarded as a close aide of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust’s former general secretary Champat Rai and had been associated with the temple’s donation management system. Tinnu Yadav reportedly used to oversee the temple’s donation boxes, while Manish used to handle the counting of offerings. The police recovered ₹1 lakh from Tinnu’s house and ₹2 lakh from Manish’s house during raids last month. The court’s order comes a …

Badrinath temple donation theft: Retired BKTC employee arrested by SIT

Badrinath temple donation theft: Retired BKTC employee arrested by SIT

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A special investigation team (SIT) of Uttarakhand’s Chamoli police on Friday arrested a retired employee of the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) for allegedly stealing cash from the shrine’s donation room. The arrest comes days after a suspended BKTC employee was held, with police suspecting the two conspired in the Badrinath temple donation theft case. (ANI Video Grab) Police said CCTV footage captured him pocketing money on three occasions before his retirement on June 30. “We have found the involvement of former temple officer Rajendra Chauhan in the Badrinath temple donation theft case. He was found pocketing cash on three occasions on June 22, 25 and 29 in the CCTV footage examined by us. He retired on June 30,” Station House Officer (SHO) of the Badrinath police station Mahadev Uniyal said. SHO Uniyal said they arrested Chauhan on Friday afternoon and will produce him before a court on Saturday. Police have arrested suspended BKTC employee Pramod Nautiyal, who was serving as a personal assistant in the office of the BKTC chairman, in connection with the case. …

‘Ram Mandir Trust treasurer must also be investigated’: Sena UBT’s Sanjay Raut amid donation scam row

‘Ram Mandir Trust treasurer must also be investigated’: Sena UBT’s Sanjay Raut amid donation scam row

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Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut has demanded an investigation into Ram Mandir Trust Treasurer Govind Giri if the alleged theft from the Ram Mandir treasury took place during his tenure, saying the treasurer bears primary responsibility for safeguarding the Ayodhya temple‘s funds and maintaining its accounts. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said he had written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inviting him to participate in the ‘Ram Raksha Stotra’ campaign (HT) Addressing reporters on Thursday, Raut said that if the alleged financial irregularities took place during Govind Giri’s tenure as treasurer, he too should be investigated. Also Read: Ram temple donation row: Treasurer Govind Giri refuses to step down, blames SBI “If the alleged theft of the Ram Mandir treasury took place during his tenure, then Ram Mandir Trust Treasurer Govind Giri must also face investigation. The treasurer bears the primary responsibility for safeguarding the temple’s funds, financial oversight, and maintaining the temple’s accounts. The claim that auditors were merely sent from Pune is highly criticisable; a temple of such national and …

‘Important’ documents, two cars, stock market: What SIT has found in Ram temple donation ‘theft’ case so far

‘Important’ documents, two cars, stock market: What SIT has found in Ram temple donation ‘theft’ case so far

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Ayodhya Police on Wednesday took Ramashankar Mishra, one of the key accused in the donation embezzlement case, to the rented house where he used to live in Ayodhya, and recovered important land-related documents from a bag kept in the house. Police take two accused, Ramashankar Mishra and Subhash Chandra Srivastava, from the district jail following the remand by the court in the alleged embezzlement of Ram temple donations, in Ayodhya on Wednesday. (ANI VIDEO GRAB) (HT_PRINT) The police sealed the house and also took the digital video recorder of the CCTV camera installed at the rented house, HT earlier reported. Investigating agencies are examining the documents to determine whether they have any connection with the case. Searches were also conducted at the locations linked to Mishra and another accused Subhash Srivastava. Both were brought from the Ayodhya district jail to the Special Operations Group (SOG) office after undergoing medical examination, where they were questioned for nearly 14 hours. Srivastava used to supervise the temple’s cash-counting operation, and Mishra, transported sealed donation boxes from the temple to the …

CCTV shows Badrinath donation theft accused stealing cash on 4 occasions: Cop

CCTV shows Badrinath donation theft accused stealing cash on 4 occasions: Cop

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A special investigation team (SIT) of the Chamoli police found that Pramod Nautiyal, the accused arrested in the alleged Badrinath temple donation theft case, was seen stealing cash on at least four occasions in the CCTV footage examined so far, police said on Wednesday. Police found Pramod Nautiyal stealing cash during donation counting on June 22, June 25, June 29 and July 2. (PTI) “We examined footage covering four donation counting days – June 22, June 25, June 29 and July 2. The accused was found committing theft on all four occasions,” Badrinath station house officer (SHO) Mahadev Uniyal said. Uniyal said the police examined footage from both the old and the newly installed network video recorders (NVRs) after the temple’s CCTV system was upgraded and found Nautiyal stealing cash during donation counting on June 22, June 25, June 29 and July 2. Police said 34 rounds of donation counting have been conducted at the Badrinath temple since its opening for the current pilgrimage season. “On each of these four days, he (Nautiyal) is seen …

Badrinath Temple donation theft case: Pramod Nautiyal arrested by SIT

Badrinath Temple donation theft case: Pramod Nautiyal arrested by SIT

Published by Webster

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Monday arrested Pramod Nautiyal, an alleged accused in the Badrinath Temple donation theft case, from Dehradun, Uttarakhand Police said. The accused is scheduled to be produced before the Gopeshwar court on Tuesday for further legal proceedings, reported ANI.  SIT tracks down accused after surveillance operation According to Uttarakhand Police, multiple teams were formed to trace Nautiyal, who was located in Dehradun. Following this, an SIT team was sent to the spot and, after around an hour of questioning, arrested him between 9.45 pm and 10.15 pm on Sunday (July 12). The SIT will seek his police custody, officials said. CCTV footage allegedly shows suspicious activity The case relates to alleged theft and irregularities involving donations at the Badrinath Temple, one of the country’s most revered shrines. Following reports of discrepancies in donation handling, state authorities formed an SIT to conduct a detailed investigation and identify those involved. Earlier, Uttarakhand Police claimed that CCTV footage showed suspended Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) employee Nautiyal allegedly “suspiciously hiding or stealing” cash, gold …

SC seeks status report from UP SIT on Ayodhya Ram temple donation allegations

SC seeks status report from UP SIT on Ayodhya Ram temple donation allegations

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The Supreme Court on Monday directed the special investigation team (SIT) constituted by the Uttar Pradesh Government to submit a status report on its probe into the alleged embezzlement of donations received at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, news agency PTI reported. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and N Kotiswar Singh also issued a notice to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on petitions seeking a fair and time-bound investigation into the alleged donation misappropriation. One of the petitions, filed by Narendra Kumar Goswami, sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged financial irregularities. He also sought an audit of the trust’s finances by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). Two other petitions, filed by advocates Ajay Kumar Rai and Dinesh Kumar Yadav, sought similar reliefs. A separate petition filed by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Member of Parliament (MP) Sudhakar Singh sought a Supreme Court-monitored CBI investigation along with a forensic audit of the trust’s entire finances. Earlier, a partial working day bench headed by …

SC seeks SIT status report on Ayodhya Ram temple donation probe, issues notice

SC seeks SIT status report on Ayodhya Ram temple donation probe, issues notice

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The Supreme Court on Monday directed the special investigation team (SIT), constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government, to submit a status report on the investigation into the alleged embezzlement of donations received at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, while indicating that it may consider issuing further directions after examining the progress of the probe. The Supreme Court asked the state government to disclose the names of the officials comprising the SIT. (HT PHOTO) Hearing a batch of petitions seeking an independent investigation into the alleged financial irregularities in the affairs of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant asked the state government to also disclose the names of the officials comprising the SIT. “We would like to know who the members of the SIT are. File a status report. After seeing the report, we may issue some additional directions,” the bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, observed. The court also issued notice to the Trust, observing that its response was necessary before the …

Ram Temple donation theft: Supreme Court seeks probe status report | Legal News

Ram Temple donation theft: Supreme Court seeks probe status report | Legal News

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Ananthakrishnan G. is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express. He has been in the field for over 26 years, kicking off his journalism career as a freelancer in the late nineties with bylines in The Hindu. A graduate in law, he practised in the District judiciary in Kerala for about two years before switching to journalism. His first permanent assignment was with The Press Trust of India in Delhi where he was assigned to cover the lower courts and various commissions of inquiry. He reported from the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India during his first stint with The Indian Express in 2005-2006. Currently, in his second stint with the daily newspaper, he reports from the Supreme Court and writes on topics related to law and the administration of justice. Legal reporting is his forte though he has extensive experience in political and community reporting too, having spent a decade as Kerala state correspondent, The Times of India and The Telegraph. He is a stickler for facts and has …

Ram temple donation ‘theft’ a disgrace; we feel humiliated: Nripendra Mishra

Ram temple donation ‘theft’ a disgrace; we feel humiliated: Nripendra Mishra

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Chairman of Ram Mandir Construction Committee Nripendra Mishra speaks to the media about the progress of temple construction work, in Ayodhya. | Photo Credit: ANI Ram Temple Construction Committee Chairman Nripendra Mishra on Saturday (July 11, 2026) said the alleged donation theft at the Ayodhya temple was a disgraceful blot (kalank), and everyone felt utterly humiliated because of it. He expressed confidence, however, that the temple management system would be improved to avoid a repeat of such incidents. Mr. Mishra arrived in Ayodhya on Friday (July 10, 2026) for the first day of the Ram Temple Construction Committee’s meeting. “This [alleged donation theft] is a disgrace, and we all are not just apologetic but feeling humiliated and let down by it,” Mr. Mishra told reporters ahead of the second day of the committee’s meeting. “This is 1783776754 an issue of temple management, and the management would surely be improved to guard against a repeat of this [alleged donation theft],” he said. Mr. Mishra, who was among the first to raise the demand for the appointment …