Faith and its fallout

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In Ayodhya, weeks after allegations of money being siphoned off from donations at the Ram temple surfaced, pilgrims and residents say it has triggered a crisis of trust. Devotees say their faith in Lord Ram and the temple remains intact, but many have grown cautious about donating. Locals report a dip in visitors, though they attribute part of that to seasonal factors as well. As an SIT probe seeks accountability, Ishita Mishra reports from the temple town, where faith, transparency, and the city’s religious tourism hopes hang in the balance

Published - July 19, 2026 03:00 am IST

Ram temple in Ayodhya. | Photo Credit: Sunalini Mathew

On a sultry July afternoon, with the sun playing hide-and-seek behind the 161-foot-tall spire of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, people pass through the steel crowd-control barricades that regulate entry. People from across generations and genders gather outside the Jagadguru Shri Ramanandacharya Dwar, the main entry point of the shrine, which took seven years and ₹1,900 crore to build.

They walk through the familiar ritual of passing through metal detectors, being frisked, depositing their belongings at counters in an expansive courtyard, before entering the main temple. Bare feet on warm pink stone, foreheads smeared with sandalwood and vermilion paste, folded hands and the low murmur of “Jai Shri Ram” carrying from one group of devotees to the next.

After roughly 40 minutes in this process, 67-year-old Saraswati Devi, from Mathura, reaches the sanctum. She folds her hands before the black stone idol of Ram Lalla and prays silently. As a security guard gestures for her to move on so others can take their turn, she pauses at the donation box in the hall. In her palm are a few sweat-dampened currency notes. She turns them over once, looks at them for a second or two, then slips in the smallest denomination, a 10-rupee note, withholding the rest.

Outside, she says, “The last time I came here, in October 2024 (the year the temple was consecrated), I offered (₹)1,000. I even donated (₹)2,100 for the temple construction in 2021, when they were collecting door to door,” she says, admitting that this time, “Vaja sabko pata hai (Everyone knows the reason).”

The reason she refers to is the alleged theft of cash from the counting tables of donation money that came to the temple managed by the trust Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra (SRJBTK). In May, a security guard discovered bundles of cash in a temple washroom, triggering an internal inquiry. In June, some employees were found smuggling cash out of the temple. Soon, Opposition parties took it up, with Samajwadi Party head and former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav calling it a multi-crore scam. The temple trust was forced to file a First Information Report.

In mid-June the Uttar Pradesh government under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to fix accountability. The investigators have spent weeks analysing CCTV footage, matching surveillance records with duty rosters, entry registers, and cash-counting logs to identify possible breaches. So far, eight persons have been accused in the alleged theft, ₹80 lakh in cash has been seized, and 30 bank accounts linked to the accused have been frozen. The State Bank of India, which was overseeing transactions, is also under a shadow.

The larger fallout has been that the 15 all-male temple trust office-bearers are being held morally responsible by people. One of them is general secretary Champat Rai, a senior leader of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, who was also among the original cohort of people who had called for the making of the Ram Mandir in the late 1980s. He and trustee Anil Mishra resigned. Now, the temple is looking for a CEO, which many devotees are not in favour of.

The largest fallout though is playing out in the temple town itself. Devotees insist nothing has shaken their faith in Ram or the temple. What has been shaken is their trust in those entrusted with managing the offerings. Many like Saraswati Devi now hesitate before dropping money into the donation box. The once-crowded donation box areas are empty.

In a city that has tied its future to faith-driven tourism, the allegations have also stirred uncertainty. If the custodians have failed, several devotees say, then protecting the sanctity of Ram’s legacy and the trust it rests on, has become a responsibility they must now share.