{
  "id": 119741,
  "title": "Siddhivinayak Temple Trust calls for audit after MNS chief Raj Thackeray claimed donation theft",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/04/siddhivinayak-temple-trust-calls-for-audit-after-mns-chief-raj",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-04T05:59:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hindustan Times",
    "slug": "hindustan-times",
    "url": "https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/siddhivinayak-temple-trust-audit-mns-chief-raj-thackeray-claimed-donation-theft-ayodhya-temple-101785820821499.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Following allegations from MNS chief Raj Thackeray that the Siddhivinayak Temple Trustees stole ₹18 crores from the temple donation box, the temple trust called for an audit into the increase in donations over the past two years. The temple's trustee Sada Sarvankar, who is also a leader of the Shinde Sena, said that several employees were suspended for receiving bribes for VIP darshan and that eight people were arrested but later granted bail. The temple employees were first given police custody and then jail custody before being released on bail. The temple trust has suspended eight employees accused of accepting bribes, and the donations have increased as a result of reforms and improvements in management. Raj Thackeray claimed that trustees of the Siddhivinayak Temple had written to deputy CM Eknath Shinde alleging the theft of ₹18 crores from the donation box, but temple trust president Sarvankar refuted these allegations, saying there was no complaint about a ₹18-crore scam.",
  "summary": "The audit comes after MNS chief Raj Thackeray said that trustees of the temple had written to Eknath Shinde, alleging a theft of ₹18 cr from the donation box.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Hindu",
        "title": "Opposition MPs protest over Ram Temple donation theft",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/03/opposition-mps-protest-over-ram-temple-donation-theft",
        "published": "2026-08-03T20:52:05.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Hindustan Times",
        "title": "'Opposition is anti-Lord Ram': Kiren Rijiju attacks Congress, SP over Ram Temple donation row protest",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/05/opposition-is-anti-lord-ram-kiren-rijiju-attacks-congress-sp-over-ram",
        "published": "2026-08-05T16:49:33.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}