The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged Ram Temple donation embezzlement has claimed that the biggest theft of devotees' offerings took place during the 2025 Kumbh Mela, when donations to the shrine witnessed an unprecedented surge.

According to police, some of the eight arrested accused had previously been involved in petty thefts.

However, the huge influx of donations during the Kumbh Mela allegedly allowed them to execute a large-scale conspiracy to siphon off temple funds.

The SIT has so far arrested eight accused: Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lav Kush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav.

All eight were questioned for several hours on Tuesday. Investigators claim the entire conspiracy was jointly planned and executed by the group.

Brother-in-law duo allegedly stole the most

The investigation has revealed that brothers-in-law Lav Kush Mishra and Anukalp Mishra allegedly misappropriated the largest share of the stolen donations.

Police claim the duo used the money to purchase multiple properties. So far, investigators have traced more than half a dozen properties allegedly linked to the two.

Ayodhya Police is now working with the Income Tax Department to scrutinise the accused's financial transactions and assets.

Officials also plan to write to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to investigate the money trail and examine whether any money laundering took place.

SBI employees under scanner

The investigation has also brought the role of certain State Bank of India (SBI) employees under scrutiny.

Under the existing system, SBI is authorised to count the cash donations collected at the temple and has outsourced the work to a private agency. Offerings from four donation boxes are counted by a 14-member team comprising 11 bank personnel and three representatives of the temple trust. Investigators are now examining whether there were lapses or possible collusion during the counting process.

Cash hidden in blankets at yoga centre

Police said the largest cash recovery was made from the Kaushalpuri hideout of accused Avinash Shukla.

The premises, a yoga centre linked to Shukla's brother Abhishek, was raided on June 5. According to Seema Tiwari, who runs the yoga centre, police recovered a substantial amount of cash concealed inside blankets kept in four boxes stored at the premises. One of the boxes reportedly bore the words ‘Ram Rajya Kosh’.

Seema Tiwari claimed that when Abhishek was questioned about the raid and the recovered cash, he told her that the police action was linked to his brother Avinash Shukla's alleged involvement in the drug trade.

Cash recovered from accused's homes

As part of the ongoing probe, Ayodhya Police recently searched the residences of all eight accused. During the searches, cash was recovered from the house of Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav, police said.

Investigators also noted that Yadav had previously served as the driver of former Ram Temple Trust general secretary Champat Rai.

The SIT continues to investigate the alleged embezzlement, with financial transactions, property acquisitions, and the suspected money trail now emerging as key areas of focus.