As the enthusiasm for the grand consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya gains momentum, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has flagged a network of fraudsters conducting a fake donation drive in the name of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Trust, the overseeing body of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
Taking to X, Vinod Bansal, the spokesperson of VHP, urged Ram devotees to be cautious in this regard. He warned them about a fraudulent social media page titled ‘Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Chhetra Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh,’ which has been created to deceive devotees. This fake page is illegitimately seeking donations through an attached QR code in the name of the Ram Temple construction.
The Senior VHP functionary also flagged the issue to the Home Ministry and police chiefs in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. He added, “We have sent the formal complaint to the UP DGP and IG Range Lucknow to take immediate steps in the matter of faith.”
We have send the formal complaint to the @dgpup and @Igrangelucknow to take immediate steps in the matter of faith. pic.twitter.com/Ul2IfEJ6u6
— विनोद बंसल Vinod Bansal (@vinod_bansal) December 31, 2023
In response to the post, Ayodhya Police informed that the Inspector in charge of the cyber station has been directed to investigate the case and take necessary action in this matter.
प्रभारी निरीक्षक साइबर थाना को जांच व अवश्यक कार्यवाही हेतु निर्देशित किया गया।
— AYODHYA POLICE (@ayodhya_police) December 31, 2023
Further, a VHP member from Ayodhya spoke with the alleged fraudster over the phone. The fraudster illegitimately seeking donations in the name of the Ram Temple reportedly said, “Contribute as much as you can. Your name and number will be noted in the diary. When the temple is completed, all of you will be invited to Ayodhya. I am speaking from Ayodhya”.
The fraudster added, “You know there is a struggle going on between the Muslim community and the Hindu community. The Muslim community is not allowing their temple to be built, so they are raising funds for their temple.”
Meanwhile, VHP issued a video message stating that they recently came to know that some individuals have been deceiving devotees in the name of Ram Mandir.
In the video message, Vinod Bansal added that they are not currently accepting any donations. He said, “Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Nyas has not authorised anyone to collect funds. I have written to the Home Ministry, Uttar Pradesh DGP, and Delhi’s Commissioner of Police, seeking strict action so that people do not fall prey to such frauds. People need to be careful too. This is an occasion for joy, we are sending out invitations. We will not accept any donation.”
Earlier in the past, OpIndia had listed out 13 fraud UPI IDs among possibly many more such fraudsters which were allegedly looting devotees in the name of the construction of Ram Mandir. While VHP Senior Functionary Vinod Bansal has stated that the trust is not taking donations currently, devotees have been cautioned to donate only through official channels.
