Claim
The Ram Mandir Trust had caught the donation thieves before the police, yet got them released from police custody.
“पुलिस ने पहले राम मंदिर ट्रस्ट ने चढ़ावा चोरों को पकड़ लिया था। लेकिन फिर भी चढ़ावा चोरों को पुलिस हिरासत से छुड़वाया।”▶ Watch source segment
Rationale
Contemporaneous reporting as of the July 2, 2026 broadcast supports both elements of the claim. The Trust detected the theft and, on June 5, its representatives (with police) caught accused Avinash Shukla and recovered lakhs in cash — well before the FIR of June 25; CCTV of the June 5 detention went viral. Despite the accused being in police detention that night, the Trust filed no complaint, so he was released and stayed free for ~20 days, and reports say senior Trust officials had earlier blocked removal of the flagged staff. The phrase 'got them released from police custody' is a slightly active framing of what reports document as the Trust's refusal to file an FIR after the detention (plus shielding allegations), which is why confidence is moderate rather than high; no dedicated fact-check by AltNews/BOOM/Factly/Newschecker on this exact sentence was found.
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 June 5, 2026, on Champat Rai's direction, Trust representatives with police detained accused Avinash Shukla and recovered cash, weeks before any FIR was filed — showing the Trust identified and caught the culprits before formal police action. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://navbharatlive.com/uttar-pradesh/ayodhya/ayodhya-ram-mandir-donation-theft-new-video-raises-questions-on-trust-avinash-shukla-1827928.html Viral June 5 CCTV footage (8:13 pm) shows police personnel taking Avinash Shukla into custody with a bag; Trust recovered ~Rs 58 lakh that day but filed no FIR, and the accused went free until arrests after the June 25 FIR. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.tv9hindi.com/india/ayodhya-ram-mandir-donation-theft-sit-probe-bank-role-delayed-fir-sparks-controversy-explainer-3835727.html Explainer on the ~20-day delay between the Trust's detection/recovery (early June) and the FIR (June 25), which is why the initially detained accused were released and remained free. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.tv9up.com/cities/ayodhya-ram-temple-donation-fraud-trust-officials-investigation-scam-shielding-accused-article-32651.html Reports senior Trust officials (Champat Rai, Anil Mishra, Gopal Rao) blocked action against the counting staff after bank officials flagged them months earlier, i.e. shielded the accused. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/ram-mandir-donation-theft-faizabad-bar-complaint-champat-rai-fir-539794 Faizabad Bar Association complaint accusing Trust officials of complicity; records that Trust members Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao recovered Rs 58 lakh from an accused on June 5, before the FIR. ✓ reachable · archived