Ayodhya gifts case: Police raid houses with eight arrested

Police personnel escort the accused to the court in connection with the alleged embezzlement of donations from the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. File. | Photo credit: PTI

The Ayodhya police on Sunday (June 28, 2026) conducted simultaneous raids at the residences of all the eight people arrested in connection with the embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple, police sources said.

Police teams, accompanied by local magistrates, conducted searches at the houses of the accused, including Lav Kush Mishra, Avinash Shukla and Ramashankar Yadav, sources said.

The raids come two days after all eight accused were remanded in judicial custody till June 29 by an Ayodhya court. Police are expected to apply for custody when they appear in court on Monday (June 29, 2026).

Eight accused — Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lav Kush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ram Shankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ramashankar alias Tinnu Yadav — were linked to the counting of cash and valuables received as donations at the Ram temple.

According to the prosecution, investigators have recovered ₹79.85 crore so far. The case was registered under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to theft by servant, criminal breach of trust, receiving stolen property and criminal conspiracy, apart from sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The FIR was registered on the recommendations of a preliminary report submitted by the three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), which was set up by the Uttar Pradesh government after allegations of embezzlement at the temple surfaced earlier this month.

Published – 28 Jun 2026 11:01 AM IST