Claim
About ₹21 lakh in cash stolen from donations, plus 121 US dollars and some jewellery, was recovered from Avinash Shukla.
“अविनाश शुक्ला के पास चढ़ावे में चोरी का करीब ₹21 लाख कैश मिला था। इसके अलावा $121 और कुछ गहने मिले थे।”▶ Watch source segment
Rationale
In the Ayodhya Ram Mandir donation-theft case, court records and multiple outlets (as of the 2026-07-02 broadcast) show ₹20,39,220 in cash, gold and silver ornaments, and 1,121 US dollars recovered from Avinash Shukla. The anchor's 'about ₹21 lakh cash' is a reasonable rounding of ₹20.39 lakh, and the jewellery claim is correct, but the dollar figure is materially wrong: $1,121 was recovered, not $121 — an understatement by roughly a factor of ten. The claim is therefore substantially correct in gist but contains a clearly erroneous figure.
Evidence
- https://www.etvbharat.com/en/state/ram-temple-donation-theft-cash-us-dollars-gold-recovered-from-accused-court-records-reveal-enn26070201331 Court documents show recovery from Avinash Shukla in the Ram Mandir donation theft case: ₹20,39,220 in cash, 1,121 US dollars, and gold/silver ornaments (~159.54 g silver-like metal plus small gold items). ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.republicworld.com/india/over-20-lakh-cash-1121-usd-gold-seized-from-ram-mandir-donation-theft-scam-accused-avinash-shukla-2026-07-02-130932 Reports over ₹20 lakh cash, $1,121 and gold seized from accused Avinash Shukla — the largest single recovery (₹20.40 lakh) among the eight arrested in the case. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.aajtak.in/uttar-pradesh/story/us-dollars-found-in-ayodhya-ram-mandir-home-gold-silver-jewelry-latest-update-news-lclg-rpti-2592158-2026-07-02 Hindi report dated 2026-07-02 confirming ₹20.39 lakh cash, 1,121 US dollars, and gold/silver jewellery recovered from Avinash Shukla's premises. ✓ reachable · archived