Ayodhya Police Bust ₹3.85 Crore Cyber Scam Over Fake Ram Lalla Prasad Website

In one of the biggest online frauds in the temple town’s history, Ayodhya Police has uncovered a cyber scam worth ₹3.85 crore. The accused tricked lakhs of Ram temple devotees by offering fake prasad deliveries through a fraudulent website.

The mastermind, Ashish Singh, originally from Ghaziabad and currently living in the United States, created a fake website — khadiorganic.com — just before the consecration of Ram Lalla on January 22, 2024. Posing as a professor from Northeastern University in Seattle, he offered prasad, temple replicas, and coins for “free delivery” but charged a facilitation fee — ₹51 from Indian users and $11 from international devotees.

Between December 19, 2023, and January 12, 2024, Singh’s website received over 6.3 lakh orders, collecting around ₹10.49 crore in total, of which ₹3.85 crore was for prasad alone. The rest came from selling other items. He used multiple payment platforms like Yes Bank, Paytm, PhonePe, MobiKwik, and IDFC Bank to collect the money.

The scam was exposed when the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust noticed suspicious online activity and informed the Ayodhya Cyber Crime Unit. Police registered a case under IPC Section 420, IT Act Section 66D, and Passport Act Section 12(3).

Ashish Singh returned to India on January 13 and went to Ayodhya — possibly to cover up the fraud or negotiate with the trust. However, the cybercrime team arrested him as soon as he arrived. During the arrest, police recovered a laptop, two iPhones, ₹13,970 in cash, $16, identity cards, bank cards, and documents from both India and the US.

In a major recovery effort, Ayodhya Police has refunded ₹2.15 crore to over 3.72 lakh victims so far. Efforts are ongoing to recover the remaining amount.

Ayodhya SSP Gaurav Grover praised the cyber team for their swift action and said the scam was “built on faith.” He added, “The accused exploited people’s religious sentiments. But our team’s timely response ensured that people’s trust was not completely broken.” The cyber team was awarded ₹15,000 for their work.

The police have also issued a warning to citizens to stay alert when making online payments, especially for religious services. “This case is a strong reminder that faith should never come at the cost of caution,” said SSP Grover.