₹18cr stolen annually? Siddhivinayak Temple 'donation theft' row explained
What's the story
Allegations of donation theft, similar to what happened in Ayodhya's Ram Temple, have surfaced in Maharashtra. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has alleged that ₹18 crore in donations are stolen every year from Mumbai's Siddhivinayak Temple. He made the allegations at an MNS event, questioning how devotees could trust institutions if such thefts occur even inside temples. The temple trust is controlled by leaders of the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Trust's response
Trust denies cover-up, demands probe
The temple trust has denied any cover-up, saying they discovered the irregularities themselves and reported them to the authorities.
Siddhivinayak Temple Trust chairman Sada Sarvankar, a close confidant of Shinde, said they informed the Maharashtra government about the suspected theft and asked for a thorough investigation.
He also confirmed that action was taken in connection with the case.
"The 48 people are suspended in this case while eight are in police custody for three days," he said.
Donation
Donations have increased
The trust said it has also called for an audit into the increase in the donation amount to the temple over the past two years.
"Some employees have been suspended. They took money from devotees to provide VIP darshan...There should be an audit on how the donations have increased," Sarvankar said.
Trustee Rahul Londhe told HT that after the employees were caught, the weekly donation amount (₹50 lakh per week) increased to above ₹75 lakh and even ₹95 lakh sometimes.
Arrests made
Political dimension to controversy
The trust said one of those arrested was Rajan Pendulkar, who had been working at the temple since 2009.
Following his arrest, eight more accused were arrested in March.
Sarvankar also alleged that all the accused have links with Shiv Sena (UBT), with some accused appointed during the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led government.
The party has yet to respond to the claims.
Legal proceedings
Theft was discovered on March 20
The alleged crime was discovered on March 20 when temple officials noticed some money missing from a donation box.
Initially, the Dadar police filed an FIR for theft of ₹10,000, but during its probe, police claimed to have collected ₹80,000.
Investigators said CCTV footage showed individuals repeatedly removing cash from a small donation box over about 10 days.
Political reactions
Who should these children trust? Raj
"The trustees of Siddhivinayak Temple have written a letter to Eknath Shinde informing him that a theft has occurred...There is suspicion that 18 crore rupees have been looted...Students cannot trust the government, so if they go to a temple and theft is happening right there...then who should these children trust?" Raj said, addressing the MNS event this week.
Siddhivinayak is one of the wealthiest temples in the country, reportedly recording a revenue of ₹182 crore during the 2025-26 financial year.