Claim
The theft was exposed when a cleaning worker found bundles of currency notes in the bathroom attached to the counting room, after which Champat Rai reviewed the CCTV footage and saw people pocketing notes.
“फिर अचानक सफाई करने वाले कर्मचारी ने काउंटिंग के रूम से जुड़े बाथरूम से नोटों की गड्डियां बरामद की। जब उसने बताया तो राज खुला। चंपत राय ने सीसीटीवी फुटेज देखा...”▶ Watch source segment
Rationale
Multiple mainstream Indian outlets (Outlook, India TV, The Federal, NewsX, Deccan Herald) corroborate the core sequence of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir donation-theft case as of the 2026-06-30 broadcast: a sanitation/cleaning worker discovered bundles of currency notes hidden in a bathroom attached to the counting room, and Champat Rai (General Secretary, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra) reviewed CCTV footage that showed counting staff concealing themselves from cameras and pocketing notes. Roughly Rs 80 lakh–over Rs 1 crore was recovered and about eight people were implicated. The claim's essential facts match the reported account; minor narrative variation exists (Rai also said hidden cameras were installed on his instructions after donation-deposit mismatches), but this does not contradict the stated claim, so it is rated accurate. No dedicated fact-checker (AltNews/BOOM/Factly/PIB) debunk was found, and confidence is bounded by reliance on news reporting rather than a court-verified record.
Evidence
- https://www.outlookindia.com/national/how-cctv-helped-crack-alleged-ayodhya-ram-temple-donation-theft Reports a sanitation worker found currency notes hidden in a bathroom near the counting area, and that Champat Rai reviewed CCTV footage showing counting staff hiding from cameras and stuffing bundles of notes into their pockets/clothing. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/opinion-the-full-story-of-loot-in-ram-mandir-who-did-it-how-much-was-looted-where-has-the-jewellery-gone-2026-07-01-1046791 India TV account of the Ram Mandir donation loot: notes recovered from the bathroom attached to the counting room by a safai karmi triggered exposure, followed by CCTV review implicating counting staff. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://thefederal.com/category/states/north/uttar-pradesh/sit-details-lapses-ayodhya-ram-temple-donation-scandal-rs80-lakh-recovered-6-of-8-accused-248248 SIT/police account: ~Rs 80 lakh recovered, up to 8 accused caught on CCTV embezzling donations before counting; cash was stashed in washrooms, corroborating the bathroom-discovery and CCTV-footage elements. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.newsx.com/india/did-champat-rai-help-expose-ram-mandir-donation-theft-heres-what-he-told-police-243801/ Champat Rai told police that surveillance/hidden cameras exposed employees stealing cash before offerings were counted, placing him as the person who used the footage as first concrete evidence. ✓ reachable · archived