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Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh: “Oh, is it that person from whose house money was recovered, hidden in cow dung? I like to keep my distance from such persons,” said a local resident of Ayodhya with a smirk when asked for directions to Lavkush Mishra’s village. 

Lavkush is among the five primary accused who have been questioned by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to investigate the Ram temple funds scam. He has been arrested along with seven other on Friday (June 26) over the alleged embezzlement of donations received in the temple. 

Besides Lavkush, the other individuals arrested in connection with the case are Anukalp Mishra, Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu, Avinash Shukla, Karunesh Pandey, Subhash Srivastava, Manish Kumar Yadav and Ramashankar Mishra. They were allegedly associated with the process of counting cash and valuables received as donations at the temple.

On June 25, an FIR was registered at the Ram Janmabhoomi police station of Ayodhya, naming eight individuals along with some unknown persons, based on a complaint from a member of the Shree Ram Janmabhooi Trust, Krishna Mohan.

Sister of accused Lavkush Mishra in Minapur Fagauli village. Photo: Akanksha Kumar.

The infamy of being a suspect owing to the alleged recovery of cash in the midst of cow dung cakes, it seems, will haunt Lavkush’s family for a long time. 

At Minapur Fagauli village, around 60 km away from Ayodhya city, the family tends to get paranoid with every single knock on their door. 

The inmates of a rather humble-looking rural household, whose paint seems to be peeling off, take their own time to respond to repeated knocks before deciding it’s safe to engage with an outsider.

His sister, Sneha* Mishra feels that the media has misreported things about Lavkush.

“Be it the media personnel or villagers, all I want to say is that if they have a video or photo as evidence that shows money was recovered from cow dung or from inside [house], they should post it on social media and bring out the truth instead of speaking lies,” said Sneha while speaking to The Wire.

According to a report by Dainik Bhaskar, Rs 10 lakh had been reportedly recovered from Lavkush’s house who was part of the counting staff at the Ram Mandir. The story further claimed that this money “had been stashed away in a box inside the house while some cash was hidden outside amid cow dung.” 

“We ourselves want that Lord Ram should get justice. After all we are also Brahmins. Badnaam kar rhe hain shareef aadmi ko (they are tainting someone with a clean image),” Sneha added, when asked about allegations related to her elder brother.

The reminder that they, too, belong to the Brahmin community, is significant. A common refrain at roadside stalls in Ayodhya is: How can a community entrusted with preserving the God (rakshak) turn into a devourer (bhakshak)?

Lavkush’s family belongs to the Shakdwipiya gotra among Brahmins, traditionally associated with performing daily worship-related rituals. Lavkush’s grandfather, Jagdamba Pandit, used to perform pujas (worship ceremony) at the homes of other villagers upon request.

His father, Bacchu Lal, went to Ghaziabad in search of work three decades ago, and currently works in Loha Mandi, earning around Rs 12,000 a month. Lavkush’s mother works as a domestic help, performing cleaning chores at people’s homes in Ghaziabad.

In a video, recorded by local reporters, currently doing the rounds on social media, Bacchu Lal can be seen responding to questions related to the SIT raid at his house.

“He got a job there [temple] four-five months ago. Since some theft had been reported, a search was conducted here and money was recovered from inside the house,” he could be heard telling the reporters. There was no mention of cow dung, a piece of ‘crucial’ information, picked up by other news outlets as well. 

While the family now remains adamant that several claims regarding the recovery are untrue, some of their neighbours in Minapur Fagauli village tell a different story. 

On June 23, 2026, ten days after a three-member panel had been set-up, the SIT submitted its preliminary report to additional chief secretary (Home) Sanjay Prasad. 

As reported by The Wire earlier, despite three complaints submitted at the Ram Janmbhoomi police station of Ayodhya in connection with the alleged embezzlement of funds, it took a lot of pressure and a very long time for an FIR to have been filed. 

A total of 150 suspects have been identified by the SIT, The New Indian Express reported, with 25 individuals likely to face action. 

The Wire visited the families of Lavkush and his brother-in-law Anukalp to understand their side of the story. 

‘Truth will come out eventually’

A striking feature in the porch area of Lavkush’s house, usually covered with a tin shed supported by bamboo poles, is a chulha (a traditional Indian stove) blackened with soot. 

Some half-burnt cow dung cakes lay in an iron vessel, while a little further away was the space where two buffaloes rested, with mounds of fresh cow dung collected in the open area. 

“Truth will come out eventually. If we really had so much money, why would we cook food on a chulha? And it’s been alleged that money was kept in cow dung, when false allegations are being levelled one can say anything,” said Sneha.

Spot outside Lavkush Mishra’s house where cow dung is dumped. Photo: Akanksha Kumar.

The truth Lavkush’s sister is alluding to here pertains........

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