Claim
Trust members had already recovered money (stated as 18,763) from Karunesh Pandey, which was handed over to police on the morning of June 26; he also stole coins, with bags of ₹10, ₹5 and ₹2 coins recovered from his home.
“करुणेश पांडे के पास से ट्रस्ट के लोगों ने पहले ही 18763 बरामद किए थे। जिसको 26 जून की सुबह पुलिस के हवाले किया गया। करुणेश पांडे तो सिक्कों की चोरी भी करता था।”▶ Watch source segment
Rationale
The claim matches police and court records in the Ayodhya Ram Mandir donation theft case: money recovered from Karunesh Pandey was first secured by trust member Krishna Mohan and formally handed to/seized by police on June 26, 2026, and the recovery from Pandey included ₹10, ₹5 and ₹2 coins. The transcript figure '18763' is a speech-to-text artifact of '18 लाख 7 हज़ार 63' — the documented recovery of ₹18,07,063 — so the anchor's stated amount corresponds to the official figure. Minor embellishment: court records list dozens of coins, not necessarily 'bags' of them, which slightly tempers confidence.
Evidence
- https://www.etvbharat.com/en/state/ram-temple-donation-theft-cash-us-dollars-gold-recovered-from-accused-court-records-reveal-enn26070201331 Court/remand documents of June 26, 2026 show Rs 18.07 lakh (₹18,07,063) seized from Karunesh Pandey in the Ayodhya Ram Mandir donation theft case, and that money recovered from accused had already been secured by temple trust member/complainant Krishna Mohan before police formally seized it on June 26. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://newstrack.com/uttar-pradesh/ayodhya/ram-mandir-donation-theft-case-cash-us-dollars-jewellery-valuables-recovered-ayodhya-investigation-612027 Itemized recovery list from Karunesh Pandey totals ₹18,07,063, including coins in ₹20, ₹10, ₹5, ₹2 and ₹1 denominations alongside currency notes. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.thequint.com/news/breaking-news/eight-arrested-ayodhya-ram-mandir-donation-case Confirms Karunesh Pandey was among eight arrested around June 25-26, 2026 on the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust's complaint of donation theft. ✓ reachable · archived