{
 "no": 39,
 "id": "case-39",
 "sk": 20260607,
 "year": 2026,
 "date": "Jun 2026 onward",
 "cat": "Fund opacity",
 "sev": "amber",
 "title": "Ram Mandir donation theft. Faith, cash and deleted tape",
 "stamp": "Cosmetic resignations, no real inquiry",
 "human": {
  "v": "Crores in offerings from ordinary devotees, allegedly siphoned by insiders",
  "est": true
 },
 "cost": {
  "v": "Claims ranged from <b>₹5 to 7.5 cr</b> to media estimates topping <b>₹200 cr</b> missing",
  "est": true
 },
 "what": "An alleged racket saw daily cash offerings at the Ayodhya Ram temple siphoned off by insiders. A state SIT found suspicious pilferage on camera, staff appointed on the recommendation of trust officials, and CCTV footage allegedly deleted despite audit warnings to keep long backups.",
 "dodge": "A trust the government itself says is not answerable to it, stuffed with figures from the ruling ecosystem, presided over faith money vanishing while cameras were wiped and warnings ignored. The response was cosmetic. Key office-bearers resigned on moral grounds yet stayed on as trust members, in what critics bluntly called an eyewash, with no wider independent inquiry.",
 "ministers": [
  {
   "n": "Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust",
   "r": "A trust, not a govt body, but tied to the ruling ecosystem"
  },
  {
   "n": "UP state administration",
   "r": "Policing and oversight"
  }
 ],
 "pos": "Trust officials said they themselves sought the SIT probe and were unaware of the alleged theft.",
 "alleg": "The theft and the scale of missing funds are <em>under SIT investigation</em> and not yet proven; figures are contested media and official estimates.",
 "alt": "An independent audit and inquiry, full public accounts for a trust built on public devotion, real accountability rather than resignations that change nothing, and transparency the government cannot disclaim.",
 "sources": [
  {
   "label": "SIT report, lack of accountability",
   "url": "https://www.opindia.com/2026/07/ayodhya-donation-theft-sit-report-lack-of-accountability-gross-mismanagement-ignored-warnings/",
   "tier": 3,
   "archiveUrl": "http://web.archive.org/web/20260719191702/https://www.opindia.com/2026/07/ayodhya-donation-theft-sit-report-lack-of-accountability-gross-mismanagement-ignored-warnings/"
  },
  {
   "label": "Who is responsible (The Week)",
   "url": "https://www.theweek.in/magazine/theweek/statescan/2026/07/04/faith-and-fraud-who-is-responsible-for-ayodhyas-ram-temple-donation-theft.html",
   "tier": 2,
   "archiveUrl": "http://web.archive.org/web/20260722060541/https://www.theweek.in/magazine/theweek/statescan/2026/07/04/faith-and-fraud-who-is-responsible-for-ayodhyas-ram-temple-donation-theft.html"
  }
 ],
 "estimates": {
  "costInrCrore": 200
 },
 "caseUrl": "https://whoisresponsible.xyz/case/case-39/"
}