Indian police have uncovered a large-scale theft from the donation boxes of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, revealing that the biggest incident occurred during the 2025 Kumbh Mela. A special investigation team has arrested eight suspects—Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lab Kush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava, and Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav—who allegedly conspired together to steal temple donations.

Investigators found that two brothers-in-law, Lab Kush Mishra and Anukalp Mishra, took the largest share of the stolen money and used it to buy multiple properties. Police have traced more than half a dozen assets linked to them. The Ayodhya police are working with the Income Tax Department and plan to involve the Enforcement Directorate to examine financial transactions and the source of the funds. Some State Bank of India staff involved in donation counting are also under scrutiny.

Raids at the suspects’ homes led to the recovery of large sums of cash, including about 8.9 million rupees. Authorities continue to review bank records and property details to trace the full extent of the theft.