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What Went Wrong At Ayodhya Ram Mandir? Five Questions At The Centre Of The Probe
Sagarika Chakraborty | June 30, 2026 8:11 PM CST

The alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya has shifted attention beyond individual wrongdoing to broader concerns over oversight and accountability at one of India's wealthiest religious institutions.

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust received Rs 82.78 crore in donations between April 2025 and February 2026 and manages investments worth around Rs 2,100 crore.

As investigators expand their probe, five key questions have emerged.

Were Adequate Safeguards In Place During Cash Handling?

Investigators say cash collected from around 40 donation boxes passed through multiple manual stages, including collection, transportation, sorting, counting, bundling and eventual bank deposits.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) is examining whether adequate safeguards existed at every stage of the process and whether responsibilities were sufficiently segregated to prevent manipulation or irregularities.

Were Standard Operating Procedures Followed?

The investigation has raised questions over alleged lapses in established cash-handling protocols.

Among the issues under scrutiny are claims that cash handlers were not required to wear pocketless uniforms and that frisking duties were assigned to a private security agency instead of police personnel or another government security force.

Did Surveillance And Audit Systems Fall Short?

Although CCTV cameras were installed in the cash-counting areas, investigators are examining whether surveillance was effective enough to detect suspicious activity.

The probe has also brought attention to concerns that CCTV footage was automatically overwritten after 45 days, along with alleged weaknesses in documentation, audit trails and reconciliation between counted cash and bank deposits.

Was An SBI Warning Overlooked?

One of the central questions in the investigation is whether early warning signs were ignored.

According to bank sources, the State Bank of India (SBI) flagged suspected irregularities in the cash-counting process around three months before the matter became public and recommended changes to the personnel involved.

Investigators are now examining whether those recommendations were implemented and, if not, why.

How Did The Trust's Safeguards Compare With Other Major Temples?

The controversy has prompted comparisons with cash-handling systems at other major temples in Uttar Pradesh.

At the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi, donation counting is carried out under the supervision of a magistrate and continuous CCTV monitoring, in the presence of bank officials and independent observers.

Similar multi-layered systems are also followed at the Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple in Mathura and the Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan.

Investigators and former officials say institutions handling large public donations require independent verification, documented audit trails, continuous surveillance and clearly defined accountability to protect both public funds and public trust.

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