Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh): There is something unusual about Rampath, the road leading up to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya now. In what could be a direct consequence of the recent temple trust fund scam allegations, local shopkeepers say that there is a palpable drop in the number of devotees visiting the temple.“It must be a 50% drop. The road on both sides of the barricade is usually filled with people,” said a vendor who sells prasad (sweets offered to a deity during worship) close to the temple. He requested not to be identified. “We still have to come here everyday for a living,” he added, explaining why he wanted to remain anonymous, fearing reprisal from the local administration.On June 29, 2026, as Bharat Samachar journalist, Sandeep Kher, stood inside the Ram Mandir premises he was told by the Ayodhya Police to step out as an order had been passed a day before which required journalists to take permission before shooting a report on the temple premises. In a video doing the rounds on social media, Kher can be heard asking a police official whether the “decision was taken so that truth doesn’t come out in the media”. Kher was informed that he can, in his capacity as a journalist, continue with the recording but only outside the barricaded area around the temple entrance. For two consecutive days, both on June 26 and June 27, before these restrictions came into place, The Wire went inside the temple premises and spoke to the devotees and here’s what we found.“The name of BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] has been tainted here. There is a fall in the number of devotees too. It’s been a week since people began thinning,” said K.P. Pandey, a vendor who plied his trade at the premises.K.P. Pandey, a vendor near the temple premises. Photo: Akanksha Kumar.Following an FIR filed on June 26, against eight persons, at Ram Janmbhoomi Police Station in Ayodhya in connection with the alleged temple trust fund embezzlement, The Wire spoke with devotees from different states who had come to pay obeisance at the Ram Temple to understand how they perceived the current controversy.In February 2026, a study released by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow revealed that Ayodhya had received 11 crore visitors in the first six months following the consecration ceremony in January 2024. The study, titled The Economic Renaissance of Ayodhya, India: A Case Study on Sri Ram Mandir, also estimated that the incomes of local traders had risen by five times in this period. According to a release by the Press Information Bureau, the annual number of visitors to Ayodhya had risen from 60 lakh in 2020 to 16 crore in 2024.‘If you can’t donate, don’t take away what others have donated’“Yes, I have heard about chanda chori (theft of funds) but I’m not aware of the details. All I can say is if you can’t do any good for the temple, don’t do anything bad either,” said Asha Devi, a resident of Ayodhya’s Kapasi village, who has visited the temple 5-6 times since the consecration ceremony on January 22, 2024.“They [referring to the accused] should receive the strictest of punishment. Since this is a temple, if you can’t donate then at least don’t take what others have donated. People come here from so many places”, she further added.Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has been facing allegations related to misappropriation of donation funds. Photo: Akanksha Kumar.But does this ire translate into resentment towards the Adityanath government or the ruling BJP? Not really.“The government has done a good job, if people only spoil it then what is the mistake of the government,” said Asha Devi.According to Aditya Singh, who had come to Ayodhya from Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh district, “An investigation is still going on in this case and it hasn’t been revealed how it unfolded. From the point of view of a devotee, such a thing should not have happened.”“Every individual comes here with a lot of reverence, and because of that, offers money and other valuables [as gifts to God]. How many kilograms of valuables have been donated, that should be made public. There should be transparency,” Singh further told this reporter.Speaking to The Wire, Parin Bhai Dhakad, who had come from Ahmedabad to Ayodhya with his wife, sons and mother, said: “As far as the temple [trust] scam is concerned, Yogi ji has already visited this place and no scamster can continue for long before him [referring to chief minister Adityanath]. So even if such persons are hiding at the bottom of the earth, they will be pulled out. I have that much confidence in the Yogi government.”Parin Bhai Dhakad from Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Photo: Akanksha Kumar.Referring to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the state government on June 13, 2026, Dhakad who is a businessman, further added, “Whoever has done something wrong in the darbar of Ram, he will suffer. One should still consider donating since this is our Ram Temple. Now that Yogi ji has visited here [Ayodhya] things will be under the vigil of Yogi ji, Amit ji and Modi kaka, hence there will be transparency.”In his latest column for The Wire, veteran journalist P. Raman has been critical of the handling of the temple trust scam by the government. On the probe conducted by SIT, Raman wrote, “For starters, the probe was conducted for 12 whole days without even a formal FIR. There are also signs of deliberate attempts to mislead the public from behind the scenes by interested parties.”As reported by The Wire earlier, three complaints were submitted at the Ram Janmbhoomi police station on behalf of former kar sevak Santosh Dubey, Indian Youth Congress vice-president Sharad Shukla and AAP leader Sanjay Singh but the police did not register an FIR on any of these at the time. ‘It won’t harm the image of BJP’Sunita Pratap, from Pune’s Pimpri-Chinchwad area, on her second visit to Ayodhya along with her mother was of the opinion, “Funds received by the temple should ideally be distributed among the poor instead of remaining solely with the Trust. At least some of it can be used to help those in need.” Sunita Pratap from Pune. Photo: Akanksha Kumar.When asked whether the Ram Temple scam would, in any way, dent the BJP’s image, Sunita told The Wire, “I don’t think that it will harm the [party’s] image in any way. Nothing will have a negative impact on BJP. Modi has done such good work and has taken the entire country forward. As far as Yogi is concerned, I don’t have much of an idea about him.”On June 27, Congress leader Pawan Khera, while taking potshots at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS) posted a video on X stating, “BJP and RSS have broken the record by Mahmud Ghazni. History tells us that in a span of 27 years, Mahmud Ghazni looted our temples 17 times. New history is being re-written before your eyes, wherein BJP and those associated with the Sangh in a span of 43 days have looted the temple of Ram 70 times thereby creating a record.”Also read: Special | ‘Show Us Evidence of Money in Cow Dung’: Ram Temple Funds Scam Accused Lavkush’s Family Is DefiantAs reported by NDTV, based on access to SIT’s preliminary report, “CCTV analysis from April 27 to June 5, 2026, had revealed that embezzlement was found on 70 occasions in 39 days.”On June 27, 2026, former UP chief minister and Samajwadi Party supremo, Akhilesh Yadav said, “When we form the government, we will develop Ayodhya into a new spiritual centre worth emulating.” Responding to Yadav, chief minister Yogi Adityanath, while addressing a rally said, “What spiritual centre will you make, first look at your own history when Ram Bhakts were fired upon by your own people.”Entrance gate leading inside the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Photo: Akanksha Kumar.The Ram Temple trust scam has, thus, rekindled a bitter battle of words between the BJP and Samajwadi Party, as party leaders resorted to targeting one another on account of Mulayam Singh Yadav’s decision on October 30, 1990 to give the police the go-ahead to open fire on kar sevaks gathered as part of VHP-RSS-BJP campaign.Outside the Ram Mandir premises, some pilgrims are yet to fully acquaint themselves with the extent of the scam inside India’s third richest temple, after the Tirumala Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh and Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala in terms of annual income. Not everyone, however, is as optimistic about the BJP as Sunita Pratap though.“Those who have been arrested so far are small fishes, the crocodiles are still at large. Champat Rai was specifically chosen by Yogi and Modi and now, even as he has tendered his resignation, Champat Rai has not been arrested yet. So why hasn’t he been arrested yet?” said Rajendra Dubey, who had come from UP’s Sultanpur district.While Champat Rai, the general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, has tendered his resignation, a confusion seems to prevail with the VHP claiming it had “no knowledge” of any resignation while the Trust in an official statement said that it had “the resignation letters [by Champat Rai and Anil Mishra] have been received and will be discussed at the next meeting.”Sona Devi, resident of Ayodhya. Photo: Akanksha Kumar.Sona Devi, a 70-year-old woman from Rampur Bhagan village of Ayodhya, sums it all up rather succinctly, even though she said that she is not aware of the nitty gritty related to the financial embezzlement.“Whatever had been received by the temple should ideally go towards the [maintenance of] temple”, said Sona Devi while talking to The Wire. “Whoever offers any form of gift should be given a receipt. It’s as simple as that,” she repeated a couple of times, suggesting that mandatory record-keeping can help put things back on track. Then she adds, almost prophetic:“No one will escape after stealing from god.”