Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Trust General Secretary Champat Rai and member trustee Anil Mishra have resigned on Friday resigned on moral grounds amid the ongoing probe into alleged donation theft. They submitted their resignations to the Trust’s president, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das.
The development comes after eight people were arrested following an FIR in connection with the matter. A First Information Report was registered in the alleged embezzlement of donations received at the Ram temple in Ayodhya under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Sections 306, 316(5), 317(4), 317(5), 61 and 3(5), on the directions of the Uttar Pradesh Government.
Those named in the FIR, including Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu, were arrested. Their names were associated with the process of counting cash and valuables received as donations at the temple. They were picked up for questioning late Thursday night, following which they were arrested.
How the Ram Mandir Donation Embezzlement Case Unfolded
The alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram Temple first came to light on June 7, triggering widespread political attention.
The controversy gained momentum after Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav raised the issue on June 7. The allegations soon snowballed into a major political flashpoint, with the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also demanding the registration of a criminal case.
Following a request from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, the Uttar Pradesh government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on June 13.
The SIT submitted its preliminary findings to the state government on June 23, paving the way for an FIR to be registered on the night of June 25. Based on the SIT’s recommendations, Ayodhya police arrested the accused on Friday.
Who Are the Accused?
According to investigators, Subhash Chandra Srivastava supervised the staff responsible for counting cash donations, while the other accused were allegedly involved in counting cash, valuables, or assisting in the donation-counting process in various capacities.
Among those named in the FIR is Ram Shankar Yadav, alias Tinnu Yadav, who reportedly served as the driver of the Trust’s general secretary, Champat Rai. Tinnu has denied participating in the cash-counting process and claimed the allegations were motivated by jealousy.
Other accused, including Lavkush Mishra and Anukalp Mishra, have also been accused of handling the counting of cash and valuables received as donations at the temple.
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