₹18 crore donations 'stolen' annually from Mumbai's Siddhivinayak Temple: MNS chief Raj Thackeray

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray alleged irregularities in donations at the Shri Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai, claiming that ₹18 crore in donations were being siphoned off every year. He also alleged on Saturday that ₹1,400 crore had been stolen at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

“Even temples are not safe these days,” Thackeray was quoted by PTI as saying. He demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi speak on this issue.

“Frustrated youths visit temples, but even temples are not safe from corruption,” Raj Thackeray said.

“Some employees who stole money from the donation box at the Siddhivinayak Temple were caught due to the alertness of the trustees,” Thackeray said, reading out a letter written by eight trustees to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Raj Thackeray said the temple's weekly earnings from donations were less than ₹50 lakh before this theft was caught, and afterwards the collection rose to ₹1.5 crore.

Sada Sarvankar, chairman of the Siddhivinayak Temple Trust and a leader of the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, said that nine employees were arrested in this connection.

“The rise in donations was due to the efforts taken by the trust,” Sarvankar said, adding that the temple's income has increased from ₹114 crore two years ago to ₹182 crore.

Notably, police arrested multiple accused in the case of alleged theft of donations at the Ram Temple and the investigation is underway.

The investigation into the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya intensified, with a newly constituted probe team questioning people inside the temple premises, a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust told PTI on Saturday.

Trust member Mahant Dinendra Das said the inquiry into the alleged irregularities involving gold, silver and other offerings made by devotees has reached its final stage.

His statement came days after the trust tightened surveillance over the collection and counting of donations by introducing enhanced transparency measures amid the ongoing probe.

Reacting to an incident in Parliament in which a picture of Ram Lalla was allegedly placed on the floor, Mahant Das expressed strong objections, calling it an affront to religious sentiments.

Das mentioned that worship and darshan at the Ram temple are continuing smoothly, with daily aarti and rituals being performed in accordance with the Vaishnav tradition.

Since July 25, every stage of the donation handling process — from removing empty boxes from the counting room to transporting, filling, sealing and returning them -- has been under continuous videographic surveillance, Das said earlier.

An eight-member monitoring team, comprising bank employees, trust representatives, private security personnel and other designated staff, has been deployed to oversee the process.