Claim
Sources tell Times Now that trust general secretary Champat Rai first received information about the suspected donation theft on the 3rd or 4th of June.
“सोर्सेस टेल टाइम्स नाउ दैट द ट्रस्ट जनरल सेक्रेटरी चंपत राय फर्स्ट रिसीव्ड इनफार्मेशन अबाउट द सस्पेक्टेड डोनेशन थेफ्ट ऑन द थर्ड और द फोर्थ ऑफ जून”▶ Watch source segment
Rationale
The claim is a source-attributed report ('sources tell Times Now') that Champat Rai first learned of the suspected donation theft on 3-4 June. It is consistent with corroborated hard facts: on 5 June the trust, on Rai's direction, raided suspect Avinash Shukla's premises with police, and Rai himself acknowledged he began an internal inquiry upon receiving information before the 25 June FIR. Multiple outlets place his first knowledge in the first week of June, making a 3rd-4th June date plausible and aligned with the documented 5 June action. However, the precise 3rd/4th date rests solely on unnamed Times Now sources and is not independently confirmed by the SIT report, court records, or any fact-checker, so confidence is moderate rather than high.
Evidence
- https://www.thejbt.com/india/uttar-pradesh/champat-rai-ram-mandir-trust-knew-about-theft-before-fir-5th-june-cctv-footage-reveals-another-big-twist-news-313612 Reports that on 5 June 2026, on Champat Rai's direction, trust representatives accompanied police to raid suspect Avinash Shukla's premises (cash recovered), establishing that Rai had knowledge of the suspected theft in the first week of June, before the 25 June FIR. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.timesnowhindi.com/cities/ram-temple-donation-theft-sit-says-racket-was-active-for-2-3-years-what-does-20-page-report-reveal-article-154768819 SIT report (submitted 23 June) reviewed CCTV from 27 April to 5 June 2026 and documented ~70 theft incidents; FIR filed 25 June, eight arrested — confirms the theft and the early-June timeline of the trust's detection. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.indiatvnews.com/uttar-pradesh/champat-rai-speaks-out-here-is-what-he-told-police-in-ram-temple-donation-theft-case-2026-06-30-1046704 Champat Rai told police he ordered an internal inquiry 'as soon as' he got information and admitted delay in filing the complaint, corroborating that he learned of the theft several days before the FIR, though he gave no exact date. ✓ reachable · archived