Ayodhya Police Question SBI Staff As Ram Mandir Donation Probe Expands, Bank Officials Under Scanner

Last Updated:June 29, 2026, 11:17 IST

According to sources, two SBI employees supervised six outsourced workers engaged in the cash-handling process.

The investigation into the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya has widened, with an Ayodhya Police team on Monday visiting the State Bank of India (SBI) branch at Naya Ghat to question bank officials linked to the handling of temple donations.

The SBI branch holds the principal bank account of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, where cash collected from devotees is deposited after being counted inside the temple premises. As part of the ongoing probe, investigators questioned the branch manager and recorded his statement before leaving the bank.

Read More: Ram Mandir Temple Trust Theft: Suspects Deleted Chats, Formatted Phones As SIT Closed In

Police are now examining whether bank officials followed the prescribed procedures while receiving and processing the donations, and whether any lapses or irregularities may have facilitated the alleged diversion of funds. The role of two SBI employees – Ratnesh and Gagandeep – has come under scrutiny during the investigation.

According to sources, both officials were regular bank employees who supervised six outsourced workers engaged in the cash-handling process. Those six individuals have already been arrested in connection with the alleged embezzlement. Except for Subhash Srivastava and Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu, all of the arrested accused were outsourced personnel responsible for counting donations received from devotees and transporting the cash securely to the SBI branch for deposit.

The questioning at the bank comes as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) continues to widen its probe into what is being described as one of the most sensitive financial investigations involving the Ram Temple since its inauguration. Investigators are examining not only the alleged theft itself but also whether institutional safeguards failed at multiple stages of the cash-handling process.

The case gained momentum after the SIT submitted its preliminary findings, following which an FIR was registered against eight accused. Police subsequently arrested all eight on charges including theft, criminal breach of trust, criminal conspiracy and offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The accused allegedly worked in the system that handled cash and valuables donated by devotees.

The investigation has since uncovered several alleged attempts to destroy evidence. According to investigators, some of the accused deleted WhatsApp conversations and other data from their mobile phones, while others allegedly formatted their devices completely before their arrest. The seized phones are expected to undergo forensic examination to recover deleted information that could help establish communication among the accused and reveal the alleged conspiracy. Police have also conducted raids at multiple locations linked to the accused in an effort to trace the money trail and recover documents, electronic devices and other evidence.

With bank officials now being questioned and the investigation expanding beyond the arrested suspects, the focus has shifted to whether any supervisory failures or collusion enabled the alleged siphoning of devotees’ offerings before they reached the temple trust’s account.

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