Ram Temple donation probe: Six accused linked to Varanasi firm supplying cash-counting staff

Six of the eight men arrested in connection with alleged irregularities in the Ram Temple donation collection process were employees of a Varanasi-based security agency that supplied manpower for cash counting at the shrine in Ayodhya, according to documents reviewed by Hindustan Times.

The agency, Sainik Security Services, was incorporated in its current form in December 2017 with a registered address in Varanasi and a paid-up capital of ₹1 lakh, according to records from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Sainik Security Services director Gaurav Singh said the agency was hired by the State Bank of India’s Naya Ghat branch in Ayodhya to provide staff for the cash-counting process. The branch is among the three SBI branches where the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust maintains accounts.

Singh said the SBI branch had recommended 19 people for inclusion in the cash-counting team.

“Usually, the corporate office raises such demands, but in this case, the local branch requested the 19 employees,” Singh said, adding that the agency inducted the workers and provided them to the bank.

SBI said it was cooperating with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the alleged irregularities. The bank said it has been providing services to the temple trust since the Pran Pratishtha ceremony in January 2024.

A senior SBI official in Lucknow, speaking anonymously, said hiring for such services is generally handled at the corporate or central level.

According to the agency’s website, Sainik Security Services operates in 15 states and lists several government organisations among its clients.

Documents submitted by Ayodhya police before the court of additional district judge (anti-corruption) Rajat Varma indicate that six of the eight accused were paid salaries by the Varanasi-based agency, according to people familiar with the case.

The eight arrested accused include Anukalp Mishra, Luvkush Mishra, Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu, Manish Yadav, Subhash Srivastava, Avinash Shukla, Rama Shankar Mishra and Karunesh Pandey, police officials said.

A person associated with the temple trust said Ram Shankar Yadav was paid directly by the trust, while Subhash Srivastava, a former bank employee, did not receive wages.

Anukalp Mishra and Luvkush Mishra are related to each other and also linked to trust member Anil Mishra, who resigned last week along with trust general secretary Champat Rai. Ram Shankar Yadav, an aide of Rai, and Manish Yadav are also related.

Gaurav Singh said the 19 workers were paid around ₹20,000 per month. He added that the company was founded by his father in 2000 as a proprietorship, later became a partnership firm and was converted into a private limited company in 2017.

HT earlier reported that some SBI officials had alleged that certain trust members pressured the bank to include specific people in the cash-counting team.

A senior bank official had claimed, “They were powerful, we could not refuse,” while saying those individuals were now under scrutiny over alleged pressure on SBI.

Singh, however, clarified that his company’s association was with SBI and not the temple trust.

“The temple is not our client. SBI is. We are the second vendor. Sainik Security Services provided the bank the manpower it requested,” Singh said.

Police have recovered ₹79.85 lakh in cash from seven of the eight accused during searches, officials said.

How the controversy began

The issue surfaced on June 7 when Samajwadi Party leader Tej Narayan ‘Pawan’ Pandey alleged that donations worth ₹5 crore to ₹7.5 crore had been misappropriated from temple offerings.

Following a request from the temple trust, the Uttar Pradesh government formed a Special Investigation Team on June 13. The panel, comprising Lucknow divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, Lucknow Range inspector-general Kiran S and special secretary (finance) Neel Ratan, conducted a preliminary inquiry in Ayodhya between June 15 and 20.

Investigators said the inquiry found prima facie irregularities in the handling of cash and valuables donated by devotees.

The SIT alleged that some donations were diverted during the collection and counting process before being deposited into the temple’s designated bank account, leading to the arrest of eight people involved in handling donations on June 26.

An FIR was registered against the accused and unidentified persons under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to criminal breach of trust, cheating, theft and conspiracy, along with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.