Beware of Donating to Fake Ram Mandir Trusts or Bank Accounts

Story:

Beware of Donating to Fake Ram Mandir Trusts and Bank Accounts for Construction of the Historic Temple at Ayodhya.

Facts Analysis:

In November 2019, the Supreme Court of India gave a historic verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case. Consequently, the Government of India set up – Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra – trust to construct a Ram temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. It was created in accordance with the Supreme Court verdict and Prime Minister Modi announced the formation of the Trust in Lok Sabha on 5th February 2020.

Central Government made first donation of 1 rupee in cash to the Trust to begin its work of constructing a Ram temple in Ayodhya. In early March 2020, Bank accounts of the trust were opened in State Bank of India inviting donations for the temple construction. The donation opened to public from early April 2020 starting from Ram Navami festival.

Fake Accounts in the Name of Donating to Ram Mandir Construction

Soon after the donations opened to public in early April, a fake Twitter account and website in the name of Ram Mandir Trust came up seeking donations through Google Pay. Scammers were accumulating funds by making a separate establishment in the name of Ram Mandir Ayodhya. So, Secretary of Ram Mandir Trust, Champat Rai, filed a complaint with Ayodhya Police against the same. Champat Rai urged the government must swiftly track funds collected in the name of Ram Mandir. The actual trust Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra had a registered office at R-20, Greater Kailash Part -1 in New Delhi, 110048. In contrast, the fake trust carried a registered address as RZ 146 A Uttam Vihar, Uttam Nagar, New Delhi.

The Construction at Ayodhya

The construction of Ram Temple was delayed due to nation-wide lockdown in India to contain the deadly Coronavirus pandemic. After lifting the lockdown, donations to the Ram Mandir trust increased again. So, like in earlier case, there’s every chance similar scams can surface again with fake bank accounts or even UPI IDs to steal money from unsuspecting donors. Same happened in case of PM Cares fund earlier to deal with any kind of national emergency or distress situation like COVID-19 pandemic.

The actual Ram Mandir Trust, i.e. Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra has the below bank account numbers for donation.

Saving Account Number – 39161495808
Current Account Number – 39161498809
IFSC Code – SBIN0002510
PAN Number – AAZTS6197B

Bank Name – State Bank of India
Branch – Naya Ghat Road, Ayodhya

For your information, the construction of a grand temple on Ram Janmabhoomi has started on 26th May 2020. As per reports, during the lockdown period, the trust received a sum of Rs 4.60 crore in the two accounts. Donations to the trust are eligible for deduction under Section 80G of Income Tax Act, 1961. It is because the structure is a ‘place of historic importance and a place of public worship’.