New Delhi: Allegations of financial misappropriation of donations made at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya have sparked growing unease within the saffron camp. The opaque handling of the issue by the trust which manages the temple has only compounded speculation and doubt. At least two persons associated with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while a prominent Hindu seer associated with the temple has even questioned the integrity of the trust members purportedly inquiring into the allegations.The controversy erupted on June 7 after Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav launched the allegations through X. In response, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has only issued one clarification through its general secretary Champat Rai. A senior leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Rai said that the Trust undergoes periodic internal audits of its works and a similar process was currently on. However, he said, “nothing noteworthy” had come to light so far.This clarification has failed to convince both the Opposition and members of the saffron camp.Rajneesh Singh, a dentist and BJP leader from Ayodhya, has written a letter to Modi demanding that an investigation be conducted by an independent and high-level agency such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Singh also demanded a special audit of the entire process of collection, counting, transportation and depositing of donations in the bank account of the trust.“The silence of the trust is raising suspicions that some form of malpractice has indeed taken place. There must be a probe,” Singh told The Wire.A page from the letter sent by Rajneesh Singh, BJP leader, to the Prime Minister seeking an independent probe.Singh said that while initially he was not sure about the allegations, his doubt got cemented after the public statement made by Kamal Nayan Das, successor to the president of the trust, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das. On Wednesday (June 10), Nayan Das told local media he favoured a probe into the matter and cast aspersions on the members of the trust carrying out the inquiry.“When the very people conducting the investigation are dishonest, what kind of investigation can there be? They are all dishonest,” Nayan Das said. “Are these people who are making such a hue and cry doodh ka dhula (squeaky clean)? Who will investigate? Only bhagwan will investigate,” he said.On Thursday, Nayan Das, while talking to news agencies PTI and IANS, seemed to tone down his stand but insisted that “appropriate action” must be taken in a proper manner. Without naming anyone, he alleged that some people, who earlier could only afford to move around in a rickshaw or a bicycle, now owned big cars and big houses.Singh says that Nayan Das’s statement has left him with no doubt that a proper investigation must be conducted. In his letter to Modi, Singh also demanded that the investigation report should be made public so that the faith and confidence of the devotees of Lord Ram was restored.Allahabad High Court lawyer Murli Dhar Singh, who is a member of BJP, also wrote to Modi demanding an impartial investigation by a high-level central agency into the alleged misappropriation and embezzlement of donations. The advocate demanded that an audit be carried out by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.Murli Dhar Singh has been a part of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh since 1982 and was part of the Ram Mandir movement. He also said that he was in charge of media management on behalf of the Uttar Pradesh government during the construction of the Ram Temple.Talking to The Wire, he demanded that Modi be nominated as the head of the Ram Mandir Trust along the lines of the Somnath Temple in Gujarat. In 2021, Modi was unanimously chosen as the chairperson of the trust that manages the Somnath Temple, becoming the second prime minister to hold the post.A page from the letter sent by Allahabad High Court lawyer, RSS member and BJP leader Murli Dhar Singh to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Hindu seer Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati of the Jyotish Peeth of Badrinath, speaking at an event in Etah, Uttar Pradesh, pointed fingers at Rai for the alleged misappropriation. Avimukteshwarnanad, who is often critical of the BJP government, alleged that the missing donation money was just the latest in the long list of misappropriations at the temple, ever since its foundation stone was laid. He took a personal dig at Rai when asked for his views on who should carry out the probe.“…this latest theft – all of this has been going on there all along. After all, Champat Rai is the one presiding there. Do you know the meaning of ‘Champat’? The word is derived from the root ‘champ’; the very meaning of ‘champ’ in Sanskrit is to take something and flee. Champat ho jana means to run away with something. In other words, when someone named Champat Rai has been installed there in the first place, you ought to understand exactly what is bound to happen,” said Avimukteshwaranand.जिस ट्रस्ट में चंपत राय हों, वहां तो लेके भागने का ही काम होगा ।भूमिपूजन के समय से आज तक चोरी ही तो हो रहा है निरन्तर । #Ayodhya #RamMandir #Shankaracharya #Jyotirmath @ANI @PTI_News pic.twitter.com/Tt5GjYxNf4— 1008.Guru (@jyotirmathah) June 11, 2026The seer, however, did not provide any detail or evidence for his insinuations. Rai has not responded to Avimukteshwaranand’s comments.Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Samajwadi Party chief Yadav on June 7 alleged that “crores of rupees in offerings” to the Ram Mandir have been found missing and demanded that courts take suo motu cognisance of the matter. While Rai acknowledged that an internal audit of the hundi counting room was being jointly undertaken by the trustees and workers of the trust and the employees of the State Bank of India, no further detail has emerged since.समस्त विश्व में भगवान राम के उपासकों के लिए ये एक बेहद संवेदनशील समाचार है कि ‘राम मंदिर’ के चढ़ावे की करोड़ों की रकम गायब पायी गई है।ये मंदिर ट्रस्ट के लिए अत्यंत शर्मनाक स्थिति है। कोई भी सफ़ाई देने के लिए सामने नहीं आना चाहता है।न्यायालय से स्वतः संज्ञान लेने की माँग है…— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) June 7, 2026Nripendra Misra, the retired bureaucrat who is the chairman of the construction committee of the temple, further triggered speculation when he made an unscheduled visit to Ayodhya from Delhi following the allegations. On Wednesday, Hindi daily Dainik Jagran speculated that Misra’s sudden visit to Ayodhya could be linked to a possibility that the Prime Minister’s Office may have sought a report about the allegations and the internal probe. Misra, however, said that his visit was related to construction work.The newspaper reported that Misra held a meeting with four trust members on Monday evening. An important meeting of the temple’s construction committee is expected in Ayodhya on June 13.Murli Dhar Singh said that the reports of the alleged irregularities in the management of the offerings made to Lord Ram, including the suspected involvement of temple staff, was a blow to the faith of crores of devotees.Rajneesh Singh echoed similar sentiments, saying that if the allegations were true, they were not ordinary financial crimes. “The Shri Ram Temple is the center of faith, devotion and belief for millions of Hindus. Devotees from India and abroad offer donations according to their faith. If incidents such as misuse of donations, embezzlement or financial irregularities are found to be true, it is not only an economic crime but also deeply hurts the religious sentiments of millions of devotees of Ram,” he wrote in the letter to the prime minister.Omar Rashid is an independent journalist.