Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh: “Oh, is it that person from whose house money was recovered, hidden in cow dung? I like to keep my distance from such persons,” said a local resident of Ayodhya with a smirk when asked for directions to Lavkush Mishra’s village. Lavkush is among the five primary accused who have been questioned by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to investigate the Ram temple funds scam. He has been arrested along with seven others on Friday (June 26) over the alleged embezzlement of donations received in the temple. Besides Lavkush, the other individuals arrested in connection with the case are Anukalp Mishra, Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu, Avinash Shukla, Karunesh Pandey, Subhash Srivastava, Manish Kumar Yadav and Ramashankar Mishra. They were allegedly associated with the process of counting cash and valuables received as donations at the temple.On June 25, an FIR was registered at the Ram Janmabhoomi police station of Ayodhya, naming eight individuals along with some unknown persons, based on a complaint from a member of the Shree Ram Janmabhooi Trust, Krishna Mohan.Sister of accused Lavkush Mishra in Minapur Fagauli village. Photo: Akanksha Kumar.The infamy of being a suspect owing to the alleged recovery of cash in the midst of cow dung cakes, it seems, will haunt Lavkush’s family for a long time. At Minapur Fagauli village, around 60 km away from Ayodhya city, the family tends to get paranoid with every single knock on their door. The inmates of a rather humble-looking rural household, whose paint seems to be peeling off, take their own time to respond to repeated knocks before deciding it’s safe to engage with an outsider.His sister, Sneha* Mishra feels that the media has misreported things about Lavkush.“Be it the media personnel or villagers, all I want to say is that if they have a video or photo as evidence that shows money was recovered from cow dung or from inside [house], they should post it on social media and bring out the truth instead of speaking lies,” said Sneha while speaking to The Wire.According to a report by Dainik Bhaskar, Rs 10 lakh had been reportedly recovered from Lavkush’s house who was part of the counting staff at the Ram Mandir. The story further claimed that this money “had been stashed away in a box inside the house while some cash was hidden outside amid cow dung.” “We ourselves want that Lord Ram should get justice. After all we are also Brahmins. Badnaam kar rhe hain shareef aadmi ko (they are tainting someone with a clean image),” Sneha added, when asked about allegations related to her elder brother.The reminder that they, too, belong to the Brahmin community, is significant. A common refrain at roadside stalls in Ayodhya is: How can a community entrusted with preserving the God (rakshak) turn into a devourer (bhakshak)?Lavkush’s family belongs to the Shakdwipiya gotra among Brahmins, traditionally associated with performing daily worship-related rituals. Lavkush’s grandfather, Jagdamba Pandit, used to perform pujas (worship ceremony) at the homes of other villagers upon request.Box at Lavkush Mishra’s house from which cash was allegedly recovered. Photo: Akanksha Kumar.His father, Bacchu Lal, went to Ghaziabad in search of work three decades ago, and currently works in Loha Mandi, earning around Rs 12,000 a month. Lavkush’s mother works as a domestic help, performing cleaning chores at people’s homes in Ghaziabad.In a video, recorded by local reporters, currently doing the rounds on social media, Bacchu Lal can be seen responding to questions related to the SIT raid at his house. “He got a job there [temple] four-five months ago. Since some theft had been reported, a search was conducted here and money was recovered from inside the house,” he could be heard telling the reporters. There was no mention of cow dung, a piece of ‘crucial’ information, picked up by other news outlets as well. While the family now remains adamant that several claims regarding the recovery are untrue, some of their neighbours in Minapur Fagauli village tell a different story. On June 23, 2026, ten days after a three-member panel had been set-up, the SIT submitted its preliminary report to additional chief secretary (Home) Sanjay Prasad. As reported by The Wire earlier, despite three complaints submitted at the Ram Janmbhoomi police station of Ayodhya in connection with the alleged embezzlement of funds, it took a lot of pressure and a very long time for an FIR to have been filed. A total of 150 suspects have been identified by the SIT, The New Indian Express reported, with 25 individuals likely to face action. The Wire visited the families of Lavkush and his brother-in-law Anukalp to understand their side of the story. ‘Truth will come out eventually’A striking feature in the porch area of Lavkush’s house, usually covered with a tin shed supported by bamboo poles, is a chulha (a traditional Indian stove) blackened with soot. Some half-burnt cow dung cakes lay in an iron vessel, while a little further away was the space where two buffaloes rested, with mounds of fresh cow dung collected in the open area. “Truth will come out eventually. If we really had so much money, why would we cook food on a chulha? And it’s been alleged that money was kept in cow dung, when false allegations are being levelled one can say anything,” said Sneha.Spot outside Lavkush Mishra’s house where cow dung is dumped. Photo: Akanksha Kumar.The truth Lavkush’s sister is alluding to here pertains to a common feature of village life in north India, where cow dung and cow dung cakes are often kept in the open outside the house, while fodder for cattle is usually stored separately. Sneha’s argument is that if money was indeed being concealed, it would be unlikely to be hidden in cow dung left exposed in the open. Sneha has come back to the village after almost two years since she got married. She has been taking care of their grandparents in the absence of Bacchu Lal, whom Sneha claimed hasn’t been in touch with the family for the last ten days since the controversy broke out. Her mother, too, we were told, was in Ghaziabad when this reporter visited the family.“My father’s mental state hasn’t been in a good condition. He had been undergoing treatment in Ghaziabad. We don’t know where he has gone”, Sneha told this reporter.The Wire could not verify such claims related to the mental health of Bacchu Lal. “A person who is not in a sane state of mind can say anything when told to do so, and I can show you his medical reports as well. In fact, all those media personnel who have misrepresented us, I will beat them myself with a danda (bamboo stick)”, said Sneha, in a tone filled with anger, her face covered with a dupatta as she appeared weighed down by the shame over the allegations against Lavkush. “For the last 35 years, he [referring to father Bacchu Lal] had been working in Ghaziabad. Just look at our condition, when we are working to make ends meet, why would we resort to theft”, she added. Neighbours recall sudden changes in lifestyleNews reports suggest that apart from the alleged recovery of cash, the recent purchase of a property worth Rs 40 lakh by Lavkush has also been under the SIT scanner.“When he [Lavkush] hasn’t purchased any property, how can I confirm such falsehoods”, Sneha told this reporter.“He has been falsely implicated in this case. If indeed he has done something wrong then he’ll get arrested. My request to the media is if indeed there is a video showing money being recovered, put it on social media, you’ll earn more after it has gone viral. Hume jeene-khaane do (Let us be),” she added.In the immediate vicinity of Lavkush’s house, stays a family belonging to the Saryupari Brahmin gotra, which refused to speak on the case telling this reporter that “since we belong to the same community, can’t be seen as standing against them [Lavkush’s family].”Not everyone in the neighbourhood in Minapur Fagauli village empathises with the Mishra family though.Also read: ‘Ayodhya May Remain in the Hands of Thieves’: Former Kar Sevak Who Filed Complaint Over Alleged Theft of Ram Temple FundsPart of the Minapur Fagauli village is also known as Thakuran Fagauli owing to the presence of 15-20 families from the Thakur community who live here along with 4-5 Brahmin families, the rest being those belonging to the Scheduled Caste. For someone like Lavkush, who studied till class 12 and then began working as a mechanic, a certain transition was quite obvious to a few neighbours who found these sudden changes in behaviour to be out of place. Minapur Fagauli village in Ayodhya. Photo: Akanksha Kumar.“Ever since he [Lavkush] got a job at the temple, some changes were quite evident. He was a car mechanic and earned between Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000. He didn’t have his own shop. What we’ve been hearing is that ever since he got this job, he would spend a lot on villagers”, said Jangir Bahadur Singh, a neighbour who lives a few houses away from Lavkush’s place.“Every time he came to the village on leave, this would be followed by hanging around with friends, spending on food, and enjoying themselves. Earlier there was no such thing, his daily trip would be that of going to the mechanic workshop alone”, Singh further added.When asked whether he was aware of any purchase of property by Lavkush recently, Singh told The Wire, “I haven’t seen with my own eyes where the land was bought or what was built, but I did hear that property worth Rs 40 lakh had been purchased in Faizabad’s Sahadatganj locality.”Milkipur: A grandfather denies allegationsAround 40 km from Ayodhya, in Milkipur tehsil’s Basawan village, almost two months ago, in May 2026, there had been a lot of chatter around two Bhagwad Kathas organised between March and April. A Bhagwad Katha is a seven-day religious event, marked by chanting of shlokas (verses) from the Shrimad Bhagwad, a sacred book dedicated to Lord Vishnu and his various Avatars including Lord Krishna. Poster of Bhagwad Katha outside house of Anukalp Mishra in Milkipur’s Basawan village. Photo: Akanksha Kumar.While one Bhagwad Katha organised by a local journalist was being talked about due to the sheer amount of money spent – estimated at around Rs 23 lakh – the fact that Anukalp, a 19-year-old, could also organise an event like this within an estimated budget of Rs 5-7 lakh caught everyone’s attention. “People do usually save well in advance before organising an event like this and two of Anukalp’s close relatives have been working in Delhi for years so it all seemed normal to us”, said one of his neighbours who didn’t want to be identified. News reports now refer to Anukalp Mishra, member of the counting staff at Ram Mandir, as the ‘mastermind’ behind the alleged embezzlement of the temple donations. According to a report by Dainik Bhaskar, Anukalp, who is also under investigation, had recently purchased property worth Rs 65 lakh in Ayodhya’s Kaushalpuri colony.Rajendra Prasad Mishra grandfather of Anukalp Mishra at his house in Basawan village. Photo: Akanksha Kumar.At Basawan village, The Wire met 70-year-old Rajendra Prasad Mishra, Anukalp’s grandfather who had last spoken with him at the Bhagwad Katha held on April 30, 2026. At the very outset, Mishra denied all allegations leveled against his grandson. “This is all wrong, this is not the truth”, said Rajendra Mishra when asked about his response to the fact that police are currently treating Anukalp as a primary accused.When asked about how long Anukalp had been working at the temple, Mishra told this reporter, “I don’t know. All I know is that my child was studying and had applied to a few colleges in Prayagraj and here in Ayodhya.” It has been two years since Anukalp cleared class 12. To another question whether Anukalp’s employment at the temple was followed by a sudden purchase of property, Rajendra Prasad Mishra, while talking to The Wire said, “I don’t know anything about this.”‘Jai Shree Ram’ flags at ever nook and corner of baag belonging to Anukalp Mishra’s grandfather. Photo: Akanksha Kumar.While responding to yet another question on who bore the expenses of the Bhagwad Katha, Mishra told this reporter, “How will Anukalp bear the expenses? I did everything since I had worked earlier as a watchman in Surat for 12 years and then later even worked at a factory in Delhi.”For septuagenarian Mishra, who suffers from a heart ailment, some of the fondest memories of his grandson now seem to be the saffron ‘Jai Shree Ram’ flags still adorning every nook and corner of his baag (garden) where the bhandara (community kitchen) was organised after the Bhagwad Katha concluded.The road leading to his house still has the hoarding informing everyone about the Bhagwad Katha, with an RSVP from Anukalp Mishra.The Wire also visited the Kaushalpuri residence of Anukalp in Ayodhya city, where this reporter met Mishra’s younger brother and sister. When asked how long they had been living here in Kaushalpuri, which was allegedly bought for Rs 65 lakh after Anukalp joined the trust, his sister told this reporter, “It had been 8-9 years since we moved in.” ‘Bought flat worth Rs 65 lakh followed by Swift Dzire’Back in Milkipur’s Basawan village, some residents including Pradhan Pati Dharmendra Kumar Yadav, began growing skeptical of Anukalp. The term ‘Pradhan Pati’ here refers to the husband of a village head who performs most of the functions on behalf of the elected representative, owing to the gender-based hierarchical set-up prevalent in rural areas.‘Pradhan Pati’ Dharmendra Kumar Yadav in Milkipur’s Basawan village. Photo: Akanksha Kumar.Speaking to The Wire, Dharmendra Kumar Yadav, who knew Anukalp, said, “Earlier he used to lead a normal life which was not so hi-fi. And then soon after he joined the trust, we came to know that his father had purchased a flat in Kaushalpuri for Rs 65 lakh.”“Just six months ago, he bought a Swift Dzire so this was being discussed throughout the village, that this development was happening in a short span of time,” Yadav added.‘Jai Shree Ram’ flag at house of Anukalp Mishra in Basawan village where Bhagwad Katha was organised on April 30, 2026. Photo: Akanksha Kumar.According to Yadav, it was Anukalp’s own political aspirations that brought him close to Champat Rai, general secretary of the trust. “He had a keen interest in politics. His father too had contested panchayat elections but lost. He would tell me that instead of a smaller political game he would rather choose a larger political arena.”Around two years ago, on the occasion of a community event, Ram Katha, organised in Basawan village, Rai had even come to grace the programme on the request of acquaintance Anukalp who was by then an employee of the trust. On Friday, Rai resigned from the post of general secretary on moral grounds.“There could be only two reasons behind this,” said Yadav, when asked about such digression among youth like Anukalp.“Either there was an expectation of a certain lifestyle, or this was done at someone else’s behest, about which I have no information,” Yadav told this reporter.Whither opportunities in the temple town of AyodhyaTwo men in their early 20s, both dropped out of education after class 12 – Lavkush and Anukalp – are now at the centre of the Ram Mandir fund embezzlement case. A major financial scam has rocked the temple town of Ayodhya in the state of Uttar Pradesh, which, going by the plans of the Yogi Adityanath government, is expected to “play a vital role in making the state a trillion-dollar economy.”According to an advertorial uploaded on the website of the ‘Invest UP’ initiative of the state government, following the consecration of the Ram temple in January 2024, the tourism industry in Ayodhya is expected to generate Rs 18,000 crore by 2028. The state government expects that the footfall of devotees in Ayodhya is likely to fetch an additional revenue of Rs 4 trillion annually.Murals inspired by Ram can be found at public places across Ayodhya. Photo: Akanksha Kumar.Even the State Bank of India (SBI), at the centre of the storm, following criticism by Temple Construction Committee Chief Nripendra Mishra over delegating the work of counting donations to 44 outsourced employees, in an optimistic research note lauded the centre’s PRASHAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive) scheme. According to the note, the scheme, which augmented the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, is likely to bring an additional tax revenue of Rs 25,000 crore per annum. As one criss-crosses the temple town of Ayodhya, between Faizabad town to the villages in Milkipur tehsil, the skyline is dotted with hotels and restaurants. Walls are plastered with iconographic images depicting the life of Lord Ram in various hues. A silhouette figure of Ram even finds its way to the billboard put out on behalf of UP Police 112 helpline no. There is a spiritual charm to the chants of the song ‘तेरे तन में है राम, तेरे मन में है राम, तन्ने कहना राम-राम मने अच्छा लागे से’ (Lord Ram is present everywhere and therefore chanting his name gives me peace) being played on the streets. The city has a troubled past too, having witnessed the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, which in the words of veteran journalist, late Mark Tully, was the “most significant triumph of Hindu nationalism since independence and the gravest setback to secularism.” As young children who have just alighted from a train walk past the Ramayan-inspired squirrel statue, with chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ filling the air on the revamped Ayodhya Dham railway junction, a question that comes to mind is whether an entire generation is being subjected to a project of memory loss. Caught in this time warp are individuals like Lavkush and Anukalp, who too want to be part of the rising Ayodhya. In Mirapur Fagauli village, neighbour of Lavkush from the Saryupari Brahmin family had sent their son to Lucknow for work after he completed class 12. Pursuing education itself is no less a battle as the gaps in schooling infrastructure often push kids from humble backgrounds into odd jobs at an early age.Ranita Shukla volunteer with NGO Saathi. Photo: Akanksha Kumar.“Every village has a school up to class five, and then there is a school in Sujaganj qasba which runs classes up to class ten. So girls also manage to study till class ten in Sujaganj after which if one has resources then they continue with private education else that’s it,” said Ranita Shukla, a volunteer with Saathi, an NGO, while talking to The Wire, during field-work in Mirapur Fagauli village. This means that in order to finish high school children travel around 20 kms daily. When asked what options children have after having cleared class ten, Ranita Shukla further told this reporter, “Then they can go to schools in Rudauli [tehsil] which is 10 km away.”“There are no such opportunities. In Milkipur, there are no proper education facilities for children,” said Rajendra Prasad Mishra, grandfather of Anukalp.“We get very little,” he added when asked whether the benefits of religious tourism were percolating down to the local residents of Ayodhya.Police actionThe first FIR filed by the Uttar Pradesh Police in connection with the trust funds embezzlement case in Ayodhya has charged those accused under Sections 305 (theft in a house/place of worship), 306 (theft by clerk or servant of property), 316(5) (criminal breach of trust), 317(4) (deal in property believed to be stolen), 317(5) (voluntarily assisting in concealing property believed to be stolen), 61 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act. In addition, provisions of Section 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act have also been added to the FIR.The police’s action, however, comes 16 days after the controversy over temple funds first broke out. Delay in filing the FIR, even as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) continued with its probe did raise eyebrows regarding the intent behind constituting an SIT in the first place.Tales from the epic Ramayan painted on walls in Ayodhya. Photo: Akanksha Kumar.Speaking to The Wire, former Uttar Pradesh director general of police (DGP), Sulkhan Singh, said, “In my opinion, an FIR should have been filed in this case right away. Giving more time to those involved can lead to substantial loss in evidence. When there is credible information regarding a cognizable offence, FIR should be filed immediately without any further inquiry or investigation. This is the mandate under CrPC [Criminal Procedure Code] and BNSS [Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita] with the Supreme Court also stating that FIR should be filed first followed by investigation.”As reported by The Wire earlier, three complaints were submitted at the Ram Janmabhoomi police station of Ayodhya in connection with the misappropriation of temple donations by former kar sevak Santosh Dubey, Youth Congress vice president Sharad Shukla and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh but FIR was not registered.“An FIR can be registered on behalf of anyone, it’s not necessary that only a victim or someone who knows about the incident can get an FIR registered, so in this case the hesitation to my mind stems from the fact that the Trust was constituted by the central government and therefore, the state government has been reluctant to file an FIR”, the former UP DGP added.Outside Lavkush Mishra’s house. His family waits for repeated knocks before opening the door. Photo: Akanksha Kumar.Meanwhile, at Minapur Fagauli village, Sneha seems to be prepared for the long haul as the criminal justice system formally takes over. “If my brother has done something wrong, I’m saying this myself he should be punished”, she told The Wire.Does this incident change her relationship with Lord Ram?“We regularly visit the temple for darshan and worship him. Why will we do such a thing with God?”, Sneha added.As this reporter turns around to click a picture of the chulha, Sneha’s grandmother shouts from inside the house, “Lo, aa gaye aag lagane.”“These people are here to incite fire.”*Name of Lavkush Mishra’s sister has been changed to protect identity.