Ayodhya’s Ram Temple, which is built on Babri Masjid site, a mosque built in the 16th century, has been hit by corruption charges relating to donations valued at possibly millions of dollars.
Inaugurated by the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in 2024, the temple is one of the most visited religious sites in India.
But the administration of the shrine is now facing the spotlight because of allegations that the monetary contributions by devotees were misused.
The claims came out following a report from a former supervisor of accounting that there were financial irregularities.
Opposition leader Akhilesh Yadav has pointed out that the trust fund for the temple has failed to account for millions of rupees in donations, leading to an investigation by the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government.
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A criminal case has since been registered by the police and at least eight people have been arrested, amongst them include staff that were in charge of counting cash and valuables.
Devotees have come forward and said that the gold jewellery, the silver bricks and other gifts that they gave are missing.
The dispute has led to the resignation of the trust’s long-serving general secretary, Champat Rai, and some of the senior trustees. The BJP leaders have declined to comment on the allegations.
The Ram temple since 1992 has been a deeply contentious issue both religiously and politically. In 1992, a Hindu mob demolished the mosque that stood on the site. The riots of 1992 resulted in the killing of 2000 people who were mostly Muslims.
The Supreme Court of India had ruled the demolition illegal, but in 2019 it had given the disputed land to the Hindus.
According to political analysts, the scandal may have an impact on the BJP going into the state elections in Uttar Pradesh next year, as the party has long supported the creation of the Ram Temple as a symbol of Hinduism.
There have also been allegations of authorities protecting high-ranking staff members, while targeting lower-level staff during the investigation.
