New Delhi, July 2, 2026 — High drama unfolded in the holy city of Ayodhya on Thursday as hundreds of agitated lawyers from the Faizabad Bar Association took to the streets, breaking through police barricades and chanting “Jai Shri Ram” in a powerful protest march. The legal fraternity marched to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi police station to submit a formal police complaint demanding an immediate First Information Report (FIR) against Champat Rai, the former General Secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, alongside other key functionaries over an alleged multi-crore donation embezzlement scandal.
The intense demonstration underscores mounting public and professional outrage in the temple town, where allegations of a financial scam involving the sacred offerings of millions of devotees have shaken the administrative foundations of the newly constructed temple.
The Protest: Clash at the Barricades
The march began following a packed emergency meeting at the Faizabad Bar Association hall. Chanting religious and anti-corruption slogans, a massive wave of black-robed advocates began moving from the local court premises toward the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi police station, located in the high-security zone of the city.
Anticipating unrest, the Ayodhya police administration had placed heavy security arrangements and multi-layered iron barricades along the route to halt the advancing lawyers. However, the situation quickly turned chaotic. Fueled by anger over what they termed a “betrayal of faith,” the protesting advocates pushed through the security cordons, successfully toppling and bypassing the police barricades.
Amid intense jostling and shoving between the police personnel and the legal professionals, several lawyers reportedly sustained minor injuries. Undeterred by the physical resistance, the lawyers heavily echoed chants of “Jai Shri Ram” to signify that their movement was aimed at cleansing the holy site of corruption, labeling the alleged financial fraudsters as “Ram-drohis” (traitors to Lord Ram).
Upon reaching the police station, a large delegation of advocates forcefully entered the office of the Station House Officer (SHO). Accompanied by media personnel, the lawyers staged a sit-in, refusing to leave until the police officially received and acknowledged their written complaint.
Key Names Listed in the Complaint
According to Kalika Prasad Mishra, the President of the Faizabad Bar Association, the formal complaint names four prominent individuals allegedly tied to the massive financial irregularities:
- Champat Rai: Former General Secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
- Anil Mishra: Former Trustee of the Ram Mandir Trust.
- Gopal Rao: An administrator closely associated with the temple construction and Trust management activities.
- Krishna Mohan: A trustee who, ironically, was the primary complainant in the very first FIR filed on June 25, but is now accused by the Bar Association of being complicit in the wider cover-up.
Speaking directly to reporters outside the police station, Bar President Kalika Prasad Mishra confirmed that the police had officially accepted the paperwork.
Anatomy of the Ram Mandir Donation Scam
The controversy originally erupted on June 7, 2026, when Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav publicly leveled explosive allegations, stating that a significant portion of the cash, gold, and digital donations offered by global devotees at the Ram Temple was being systematically embezzled by insiders.
Responding to the mounting political and social pressure, the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government swiftly constituted a high-powered Special Investigation Team (SIT) to audit the temple accounts and interview the management. The SIT’s preliminary findings, submitted on June 23, confirmed massive financial discrepancies in the donation-counting process.
On June 25, the first official FIR was filed, leading to the immediate arrest of eight individuals who were actively employed in the temple’s cash-vaults and donation-counting teams. Those arrested—identified as Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lav Kush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ram Shankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava, and Ramashankar alias Tinnu Yadav—remain in strict judicial custody.
Following their names surfacing in the investigation, Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra offered their resignations, stating they were stepping down to take “moral responsibility” for the massive administrative lapse. Local police have since conducted multiple rounds of rigorous questioning with Champat Rai regarding the multi-crore asset embezzlement trail.