Champat Rai, general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Trust, and trustee Anil Mishra resigned on Friday. They cited moral responsibility linked to an alleged theft of donations at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. The move followed registration of a First Information Report into suspected misappropriation of funds received for the temple, according to news agency ANI.
Rai wrote to trust chairman Mahant Nritya Gopal Das that he was stepping aside to allow an impartial inquiry and to shield the temple project from controversy. He denied personal involvement and said the resignation was temporary pending completion of the probe.
The FIR, filed under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on state government directions, names several individuals including Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Avinash Shukla, Tinnu Yadav and Manish Yadav. Allegations claim between seven and seven-and-a-half crore rupees in donations were diverted. Former Samajwadi Party legislator Pawan Pandey raised the claims, prompting the Uttar Pradesh government to form a three-member Special Investigation Team on 14 June.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath criticised opposition parties for politicising the matter. He said those who once opposed the temple’s construction were now exploiting the issue and vowed a zero-tolerance approach to any attempt to undermine public faith. He stated that the investigation would establish the facts and urged cooperation with the SIT.
