Claim
The channel's undercover reporter, posing as a devotee, captured Champat Rai's aides on camera discussing ways to avoid CCTV and assuring that valuable donations could change hands without any bill, receipt or documentation.
“आर अंडर कवर रिपोर्टर पोज़्ड एस एज अ डेबर्टी विशिंग टू मेक अ वैल्युएबल ऑफरिंग... आर कैमरास कैप्चर राइज एड्स डिस्कसिंग वेज़ अराउंड अवॉयडिंग सीसीटीवी... दैट प्रेशियस डोनेशंस कुड अलेजिडली चेंज हैंड्स विदाउट एनी बिल... विदाउट डॉक्यूमेंटेशन विदाउट एन इमीडिएट पेपर डे”▶ Watch source segment
Rationale
The claim accurately describes what Times Now's own undercover sting ('Operation Chanda Chori') aired: reporters posing as donors captured men identifying as Champat Rai's aides discussing ways to bypass CCTV and offering that gold/silver donations could be handed over without a bill, receipt or documentation. This is corroborated by multiple independent outlets reporting on the broadcast, and it sits within a verified, active donation-theft investigation (FIR of June 25, eight arrests, UP SIT). The confidence is held below full because the material is the channel's own sting footage and no independent fact-checker has verified the substance of the aides' recorded statements; the claim is narrowly a faithful account of what the channel captured and aired, which is accurate.
Evidence
- https://www.medianews4u.com/times-now-s-i-t-exposes-massive-accountability-lapses-in-ram-mandir-trust-via-undercover-sting-operation-chanda-chori/ Reports Times Now's undercover sting 'Operation Chanda Chori' in which a Special Investigation Team posed as wealthy donors and captured Champat Rai's aides discussing bypassing CCTV and accepting donations without documentation. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/india/inside-champat-rai-s-guest-house-times-now-sting-exposes-how-babuji-runs-the-ram-temple-donation-network-from-the-shadows/ar-AA2743HR Details the sting: aide 'Pradyumn' assured the undercover team 'everything will be facilitated,' aides said CCTV 'can be managed,' and gold could be shown as a donation with no bill required, in exchange for a written undertaking stripping the donor of future rights. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/top-headlines/ram-mandir-donation-theft-faizabad-lawyers-file-criminal-complaint-against-champat-rai/ Confirms a real, ongoing donation-theft scandal at the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust: FIR registered June 25, eight arrested, SIT investigating, providing the factual backdrop to the sting. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://aninews.in/news/national/politics/chanda-chori-at-ram-mandir-has-shaken-nation-kc-venugopal-writes-to-pm-modi-seeks-sc-monitored-probe-into-alleged-embezzelment-row20260702145242/ Wire agency coverage confirming the 'Chanda Chori' controversy was a live national story on the broadcast date (2026-07-02). ✓ reachable · archived