Investigators recover one of the most crucial pieces of evidence from #RamTemple donation row accused's house.

A donation chest bearing the words "Ramrajya Kosh" and fitted with a QR code for digital payments was recovered from the residence of an accused in the alleged #RamTemple donation theft case.

The wooden chest was recovered during a search of the house of accused Avinash Shukla as the SIT intensified its investigation into the alleged embezzlement of devotees' offerings at the Ram Temple in #Ayodhya.

🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/uttar-pradesh/2026/Jul/01/ayodhya-ram-temple-embezzlement-case-donation-chest-bearing-qr-code-seized-from-accuseds-house

The #Ayodhya Development Authority has begun action against properties linked to those accused in the #RamTemple donation theft case by issuing a show-cause notice over an under-construction house allegedly built in violation of building rules.

#RamMandir

🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/uttar-pradesh/2026/Jul/02/ayodhya-development-authority-issues-notice-over-accuseds-house-in-ram-temple-donation-theft-case

"Who exactly are they trying to protect in the end? #NarendraModi took full credit for the #RamTemple, but today he remains silent on the theft of offerings... when he took the credit, he must also take responsibility. This is a betrayal of the people's trust"

Amid the raging row over the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple in #Ayodhya, the Congress pushed for its demands that the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust be dissolved, a Supreme Court-monitored probe be conducted, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi break his "silence" on the issue.

#RamMandir

🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/uttar-pradesh/2026/Jul/03/pm-modi-took-full-credit-for-ram-temple-must-break-silence-on-donation-thefts-congress

Around the time the #Ayodhya #RamTemple donation scam unfolded, another major temple was on a diametrically opposite plane, taking its security systems to the next level.

The #Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, which manages the Sri Venkateswara temple in #Tirupati — the richest Hindu temple in the world — tasked the Institute of Chartered Accounts of India with creating a robust framework to strengthen its accounting and audit system.

Could the Ayodhya temple have prevented the multi-crore donation theft by adopting the ‘TTD model’, as suggested by former principal secretary to PM Narendra Modi and #RamMandir construction committee chairman Nripendra Misra?

The answer may lie not in robust technology but in effective administration.

🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/explainers/2026/Jul/04/ram-temple-theft-vs-robust-ttdsecurity

Amid the controversy over the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in #Ayodhya, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP #JohnBrittas has written to Union Home Minister #AmitShah urging the Centre to reconsider its stand that the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust is not a public authority under the Right to Information Act.

#RamMandir

https://www.newindianexpress.com/india/2026/Jul/05/donation-theft-ram-temple-trust-should-come-under-rti-for-transparency-cpim-mp-tells-centre

A primary school teacher, a former car mechanic, a retired bank employee and a trusted aide of a senior Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust functionary are among the eight people arrested in connection with the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Take a look at the people arrested in #Ayodhya #RamTemple donation theft probe.

#RamMandir

🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/uttar-pradesh/2026/Jul/05/teacher-temple-aide-former-mechanic-who-are-the-8-arrested-in-ayodhya-ram-temple-donation-theft-probe

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief #UddhavThackeray launched his "Ram Raksha" agitation over the alleged embezzlement of donations at the #Ayodhya #RamTemple, accusing the #BJP of exploiting Hindutva and asserting that "those looting Hindus are in power".

#RamMandir

🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/maharashtra/2026/Jul/05/bjp-mukt-ram-uddhav-launches-ram-raksha-campaign-over-ayodhya-donation-row

Nearly a month after the controversy erupted over the alleged theft of donation money from the #RamTemple in #Ayodhya, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das expressed deep anguish over the issue.

Demanding the strictest punishment for those responsible for the alleged wrongdoing, he urged people not to politicise the matter, saying it was linked to the faith of millions of Hindus.

🔗 https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/uttar-pradesh/2026/Jul/06/deeply-distressed-ram-temple-trust-chief-seeks-strictest-punishment-for-donation-theft-accused

Around 70 suspicious incidents were captured on CCTV between April 27 and June 5, 2026, during the counting of donations at the #RamTemple, with staff allegedly seen concealing bundles of cash, according to the preliminary report of the SIT investigating the alleged donation irregularities.

The report identified several procedural lapses that may have facilitated the alleged misappropriation, including the absence of frisking at entry and exit points, inadequate checks on employees' personal belongings, and the practice of counting cash from multiple donation boxes together.

#Ayodhya #RamMandir

🔗 https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/uttar-pradesh/2026/Jul/07/ram-temple-donation-embezzlement-probe-sit-flags-security-lapses-around-70-suspicious-incidents

The #Ayodhya #RamMandir theft has miraculously transformed the erstwhile opponents of Ram Mandir into his ardent devotees chanting “Jai Shri Ram”.

What has happened at the Ram Mandir is a theft. A pilferage easily executed by lower-level staff handling cash. Not a corruption or a scam. It would be corruption only if the top management had attempted to hush it up.

The Ram Mandir theft is undoubtedly shocking and painful to anyone who cares about the nation’s reputation symbolised by the geopolitical reputation of the Mandir.

Yet, the tsunami of hyperbolic news and allegations that obscured crucial facts, have unfairly cast an avoidable shadow on the national brand.

S Gurumurthy writes

PART I 👇

🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/opinion/2026/Jul/07/ram-mandir-theft-hindu-nationalism-and-politics

PART II drops tomorrow

'Those supporting #BJP are betraying Lord Ram': #SamajwadiParty chief #AkhileshYadav targets saffron party over #Ayodhya row, fuel prices

🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/india/2026/Jul/07/those-supporting-bjp-are-betraying-lord-ram-akhilesh-targets-saffron-party-over-ayodhya-row-fuel-prices

COLUMN | Even a single rupee stolen is a tragic betrayal of Shri Ram. Ram is not merely an idol. He is the very soul of this ancient nation. He is the very symbol of the #Ayodhya movement that decisively course-corrected the pseudo-secular polity, which fractured our civilisational ethos.

The Ram Mandir movement had successfully dismantled the pseudo-secular politics based on vote, thus restoring the Hindu nationalist perspective to its rightful place in the Constitution.

Now, weaponising this Mandir theft, the forces that vehemently opposed the course-correction of the nation by the Ram Mandir movement, are desperately trying to derail it and drag the nation back into the abyss of pseudo-secularism.

With elections approaching in Uttar Pradesh, the objective of the detractors is crystal clear: use the theft to fracture the temple movement.

PART II 👇

🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/opinion/columns/s-gurumurthy/2026/Jul/08/will-theft-affect-hindutva-up-poll

The alleged embezzlement of donation money at the #RamTemple in #Ayodhya has revived memories of another high-profile temple theft — at the #KashiVishwanathTemple — that changed the shrine's management forever.
A look back at the temple's history shows that a theft at the revered shrine four decades ago had led the then #UttarPradesh government to take over its management.
🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/uttar-pradesh/2026/Jul/08/ayodhya-donation-scandal-recalls-1983-kashi-vishwanath-theft-that-reshaped-temple-governance

The alleged theft of donations from the #RamTemple in #Ayodhya has ignited a political controversy in #UttarPradesh, providing the Opposition with an opportunity to sharpen its attack on the ruling #BJP ahead of the assembly elections.

Although the BJP and the UP government have no direct role in the collection, custody or management of the donations, the Opposition, particularly the #SamajwadiParty, is expected to exploit the controversy to question the governance narrative associated with the temple.

#RamMandir

🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/india/2026/Jul/09/theft-at-ram-temple-may-take-centrestage-in-up-polls

The ambit of the probe into the embezzlement of #RamTemple donation funds has widened with the investigators focusing on investment of a part of the stolen cash in stock market and other financial instruments by the accused in a bid not only to conceal the money trail, but also generate profits.

#Ayodhya police have searched houses of the accused again and have allegedly frozen their bank accounts.

#RamMandir

🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/uttar-pradesh/2026/Jul/10/stolen-ram-temple-donation-funds-invested-in-shares-police-freeze-30-bank-accounts

In a major development, 23 employees responsible for counting donation money at #RamMandir in #Ayodhya resigned.

They stated that the counting process at the temple had become more time-consuming and rigorous as the number of Rs 10 and Rs 20 denomination currency notes being offered had increased significantly after the donation theft came to light.

🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/uttar-pradesh/2026/Jul/10/ayodhya-temple-fund-row-23-employees-responsible-for-counting-donation-money-resign

Who really called the shots while the Ram Mandir was being built—Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai, or former bureaucrat Nripendra Misra, who headed the temple's construction committee?

That question has moved to centre stage after Rai accused Misra of ignoring the advice of other members, taking key decisions according to his own preferences and choosing people for important positions during the construction of the temple.

#RamMandir #Ayodhya

🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/uttar-pradesh/2026/Aug/21/champat-rai-nripendra-misra-face-off-who-called-the-shots-in-ram-mandir-construction

The Faizabad Bar Association warned of further agitation if an FIR is not registered against former Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai, former trustee Anil Mishra and temple official Gopal Rao in connection with alleged irregularities in handling of donations at the Ram Mandir.

#RamMandir #Ayodhya

🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/uttar-pradesh/2026/Aug/22/ram-mandir-donations-row-lawyers-body-demands-fir-against-champat-rai-anil-mishra-2

From flying fighter aircraft and testing combat systems to commanding the Indian Air Force’s Western Air Command during Operation Sindoor, Air Marshal (Retd) Jeetendra Mishra has taken on an entirely different responsibility: managing the affairs of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

Take a look at why was he chosen as Ram Mandir CEO.

#RamMandir #Ayodhya

🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/specials/2026/Sep/03/from-fighter-pilot-to-ram-mandir-ceo-air-marshal-retd-jeetendra-mishra-takes-on-a-new-role

Beyond Ram Temple, Ayodhya's boom tells another story

Ayodhya District Magistrate Shashank Tripathi says there has been no fall in pilgrim footfall following the recent controversy. The administration receives daily figures, he says, and the numbers are actually 10–20 per cent higher than last year.

#RamMandir #Ayodhya

🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/india/2026/Sep/14/beyond-ram-temple-ayodhyas-boom-tells-another-story