Key facts
- Accused confessed stolen Ram Temple funds were spent on an iPhone for girlfriend
- Court granted police custody of 3 accused
- Congress alleges BJP-RSS 'whitewash' of the case
- Case involves theft of donations from the Ayodhya Ram Mandir
A key accused in the Ram Mandir donation theft case has confessed that money stolen from the Ayodhya temple was spent on purchasing an iPhone for his girlfriend, investigators said. The confession has added a sensational dimension to what is already one of the most politically sensitive criminal cases in the country.
A court has granted police custody of three accused in the case, allowing investigators to continue interrogating the suspects and trace the full extent of the stolen donations. The Ram Mandir, built after decades of legal and political battles and inaugurated with great fanfare, has enormous symbolic significance for the BJP and its core supporters.
Congress has seized on the theft to allege that the BJP and RSS are engaged in a whitewash of the incident, demanding a transparent investigation. The accusation of a cover-up has sharpened the political stakes around a case that the ruling establishment would clearly prefer to resolve quietly.
The case has also prompted discussion about oversight mechanisms at major religious sites in India, where donation collection often operates with limited formal auditing. Security and administrative arrangements at the Ram Mandir are expected to come under scrutiny as the investigation widens.