BIJNOR, UTTAR PRADESH — All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi has launched a sharp political attack against the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government regarding the ongoing investigation into the Ram Mandir donation theft case.
Speaking at a public rally in Bijnor, Western Uttar Pradesh, the Hyderabad MP questioned the pace of the investigation, alleging double standards in law enforcement based on religious identity.
Allegations of Selective Enforcement
Owaisi criticized the state government’s delayed legal maneuvers against the high-profile individuals implicated in the multi-crore financial scandal. He contrastingly pointed to the administration’s frequent use of encounters and property demolitions (“bulldozer justice”) in other criminal cases.
“They should have kept a Muslim in the trust and closed the case with his encounter and by bulldozing his house. But currently, the accused are enjoying.” — Asaduddin Owaisi, AIMIM Chief
Owaisi specifically noted that law enforcement agencies had not sought aggressive police custody of the primary suspects. He also pointedly remarked on the resignation of Champat Rai, the former general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, who stepped down following the initial disclosures.
Inside the Investigation: Missing Funds and Arrests
The donation theft controversy has triggered widespread political fallout, drawing intense criticism from opposition parties including the Samajwadi Party. Following initial queries raised by Akhilesh Yadav, the state government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to audit the temple’s financial accounts.
Case Breakdown & Recoveries:
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The Financial Deficit: Financial forensic teams estimate that between ₹7 crore and ₹7.5 crore in cash is missing from the official temple ledger books.
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Asset Recoveries: Police investigators have successfully recovered approximately ₹80 lakh in unaccounted cash during targeted raids.
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High-Profile Exits: General Secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra have both resigned from their leadership positions within the temple trust on moral grounds.
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Registered Complaints: The first formal FIR was registered on June 25, 2026, by trust member Krishna Mohan, leading to the immediate arrest of eight core donation-counting staff members: Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava, and Ram Shankar Yadav.
In response to the growing political friction, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath issued a public statement asserting a “zero-tolerance approach” toward any individuals attempting to compromise public or religious institutional trust, promising a thorough administrative and legal cleanup of the management system.
