Raj Thackeray alleges theft of ₹18 crore from Siddhivinayak Temple donations

Speaking at the 20th anniversary of his party’s student wing, Raj read out the letter written by eight of the temple’s 11 trustees, which included Shiv Sena members Rahul Londhe and Meena Kambli and chairperson Sarvankar. “When the frustrated youth of this country go to a temple, they find theft in temples too,” he quipped

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday said that trustees of the famous Siddhivinayak Temple at Prabhadevi had written to deputy CM Eknath Shinde, alleging a theft of ₹18 crore from the donation box on the lines of the Ram temple loot at Ayodhya. Trust chairperson Sada Sarvankar however refuted the allegations, saying that Raj had misinterpreted the letter.

Mumbai, India – 01 Aug 2026: MNS chief Raj Thackeray arrived at Ravindra Natya Mandir to attend the 20th Foundation Day celebrations of the Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena (MNVS), in Mumbai, India, on Saturday, 01 Aug 2026. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

Speaking at the 20th anniversary of his party’s student wing, Raj read out the letter written by eight of the temple’s 11 trustees, which included Shiv Sena members Rahul Londhe and Meena Kambli and chairperson Sarvankar. “When the frustrated youth of this country go to a temple, they find theft in temples too,” he quipped.

Remarking that as per the primary estimate, the loot in the Ayodhya Ram temple was ₹1,400 crore, Raj pointed out that everyone from the BJP government was mum on this. “PM Modi, who alone performed the rituals during the Ram temple work, has not uttered a word,” he said. “Similarly, in Siddhivinayak, temple trustees have written a letter to Dy CM Shinde demanding a probe into the loot of temple donations.”

The MNS chief said that the letter claimed that temple employees were involved in the theft. “After these employees were caught, the average donation amount has increased significantly,” he said. “According to their letter, around ₹18 crore was being looted annually. This should be probed.”

Trustee Rahul Londhe, however, told HT that the trustees, all belonging to Mahayuti parties, had demanded an audit of the temple trust during Uddhav Thackeray’s CMship. “In a review meeting, we realised that the malpractices were happening with the involvement of longtime employees, nine of whom we then monitored and nabbed,” he said. “This means that during the earlier regime, the same employees must have been stealing from the donation boxes. So we wrote a letter to Dy CM Shinde and demanded an audit of that period.” Londhe said that after the employees were caught, the weekly donation amount, which used to be around ₹50 lakh per week, increased to above ₹75 lakh and even ₹95 lakh sometimes.

Chairman Sada Sarvankar, who is also a leader of the Shinde Sena, refuted the allegations and insisted that Raj Thackeray had misinterpreted the letter. “There was no complaint about a ₹18-crore scam,” he said. “After we found out that some employees were misappropriating donations, we took action against nine employees. We also took action against employees who were taking money from devotees for arranging quick darshans. Due to the reforms and improvements in the management of the Siddivinayak Temple, the donations have increased in the last two years.”