{
  "id": 31986,
  "title": "Raj Thackeray alleges donation theft at Mumbai's Siddhivinayak Temple: ‘ ₹18 crore stolen annually’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/02/raj-thackeray-alleges-donation-theft-at-mumbais-siddhivinayak-temple",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-02T06:02:21.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hindustan Times",
    "slug": "hindustan-times",
    "url": "https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/raj-thackeray-alleges-donation-theft-at-mumbais-siddhivinayak-temple-claims-rs-18-crore-stolen-annually-101785642016447.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Raj Thackeray, founder of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, has claimed that ₹18 crore in donations are stolen annually from Mumbai's Siddhivinayak Temple. Allegedly, ₹1,400 crore was stolen from the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, according to Thackeray. He stated that temples are no longer safe due to corruption and called for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the issue. Thackeray provided a letter from eight temple trustees, stating that employees were caught stealing from the donation box at Siddhivinayak Temple. The temple's weekly income rose from less than ₹50 lakh to ₹1.5 crore after the theft was detected. Sada Sarvankar, chairman of the Siddhivinayak Temple Trust, confirmed that nine employees were arrested, and the temple's income increased from ₹114 crore two years ago to ₹182 crore due to their efforts.",
  "summary": "Alleging that ₹1,400 crore had been stolen at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Thackeray remarked that temples are not safe these days.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Hindu",
        "title": "MNS chief Raj Thackeray alleges ₹18 crore annual donation “theft” at Siddhivinayak Temple",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/02/mns-chief-raj-thackeray-alleges-18-crore-annual-donation-theft-at",
        "published": "2026-08-02T08:53:39.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}