The trust that runs the Ram temple in Ayodhya, one of India's most important and politically charged Hindu pilgrimage sites, has overhauled its leadership following allegations that tens of millions of rupees in devotee donations were stolen. General secretary Champat Rai and another official, Anil Mishra, resigned after police lodged a complaint on 25 June, and a retired forest officer, Krishna Mohan, has been appointed interim general secretary. The upheaval matters because the temple, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2024, is a flagship project of his government and draws around 50 million visitors a year, making any scandal there highly sensitive.

The allegations were first raised by a former accounts supervisor who says he was sacked after flagging concerns internally, and they have since grown into a major political row, with opposition parties questioning the handling of cash, gold, silver and jewellery. A state-appointed Special Investigation Team produced an interim report, after which Ayodhya police registered an embezzlement case and arrested eight people. The trust, which says it received 5.82bn rupees (£45.63m) up to 31 March 2026, has denied that its trustees were involved, blaming trusted associates instead; the exact sum missing is unclear, though one former legislator alleges more than 70m rupees. The trust is due to meet again on 22 July, by which point police are expected to file a final report.