Ayodhya police records statement of Champat Rai in Ram temple endowment embezzlement probe

Ayodhya police have recorded the statement of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai as part of an investigation into alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple, days after he offered to resign and take “moral responsibility” for the controversy, officials said on Tuesday (Jun 30, 2026).

A police official confirmed to PTI that Mr. Rai’s statement was recorded, but declined to say when, where and how long the interrogation lasted.

“Yes, his statements were recorded,” the official said.

While the official declined to elaborate further, sources said Ayodhya Circle Officer Ashutosh Tiwari, who is leading the investigation, visited Mr. Rai’s Bharat Kuti residence in Karsevakpuram, Ayodhya to record his statement.

According to sources, the police have sought details and documents related to the alleged donation theft from Mr. Rai, who is believed to have learned about the suspected fraud before it became a major political controversy.

Asked about media reports that claimed Mr Rai had admitted that it was a mistake not to file an FIR immediately after learning of the alleged theft, another police official told PTI: “Sorry, I can’t say anything about that. What happened is confidential and cannot be shared.” Sources confirmed that the temple trust became aware of the alleged endowment theft before June 7, when the matter first came into the public domain.

Some supporters of Mr. Rai, speaking on condition of anonymity, told PTI that he was “clean” and acted immediately after learning about the alleged scam.

However, they were unable to explain why the FIR was filed against the accused only on June 25, days after a viral video that went viral on June 5 purportedly showed the recovery of a bag that allegedly contained stolen donation money from the residence of accused Avinash Shukla.

The controversy first erupted on June 7 after Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav allegedly embezzled donations at the Ram temple. Mr Rai then denied the allegations, saying that “nothing remarkable” had turned up during an internal audit of the donation management system.

Subsequently, the Uttar Pradesh government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on 13 June. Its preliminary report is understood to have found widespread breaches of standard operating procedures governing the handling and counting of donations at the temple, including the absence of mandatory security checks, failure to retain CCTV footage for a specified period and forfeiture of donation box keys.

Based on preliminary findings submitted on June 23, an FIR was registered on June 25 and eight persons associated with the donation counting process at the temple were arrested. Police said they have so far recovered nearly ₹80 crore in cash from the six accused, apart from some foreign currency.

One of the arrested, Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav, is a former driver of Rai and had keys to several donation boxes, according to the SIT. This was against the prescribed Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).

Meanwhile, police on Tuesday (June 30, 2026) interrogated one of the arrested accused Avinash Shukla inside the district jail after obtaining permission from the court, sources said.

They said the investigating officer and Ayodhya circle member Ashutosh Tiwari had moved the court for permission to interrogate Shukla in judicial custody.

After the court granted the request, Mr. Tiwari visited the jail and questioned the accused in connection with the alleged embezzlement of donations to the Ram Janmabhoomi temple.

According to sources, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust recovered ₹20 lakh from Mr. Shukla on June 5.

PTI’s repeated calls to Mr. Rai for his comments on the development went unanswered.

The alleged embezzlement has since developed into a major political controversy, with opposition parties demanding accountability and investigations continuing to probe the extent of the fraud and the sequence of events leading to the registration of the FIR.

Published – 30 June 2026 19:00 IST