NEW DELHI: Champat Rai, 80-year old general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, an independent body that manages the Ayodhya shrine, and trustee Anil Mishra have submitted their resignations, an official confirmed.
Champat Rai hailing from Bijnor district in U.P. is a vice-president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and he was the boss of the trust running the Ram Mandir.
The resignations follow a strong stance by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the submission of a preliminary report by the Special Investigating Team (SIT) probing the alleged theft.
Reports suggest nearly Rs 7-7.5 crore is missing.
A police case was filed on Thursday under sections of theft by clerk, criminal breach of trust, dishonestly receiving stolen property and criminal conspiracy.
The SIT named eight accused, including six temple staff responsible for counting cash: Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu. They were reportedly caught embezzling money on CCTV and have been arrested.
“We had said an SIT had been constituted and that action would begin as soon as its report was received. The SIT report came and action started immediately. I assure you that, as I had said, we will separate truth from falsehood,” Yogi Adityanath said on Friday.
The theft controversy has taken a political turn, with opposition leaders alleging that the FIR does not fix accountability on senior functionaries of the Trust, including Rai and Mishra.
Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Lal Suman questioned the demand for resignations on “moral grounds” and alleged that influential people were being shielded. He also alleged that the investigation is biased and argued that morality cannot be selective, asserting that action should also be taken against those responsible.
The issue was first flagged by the Samajwadi Party, following which the temple trust asked the government to order a probe to establish the facts and dispel any rumour.
Subsequently, the UP government ordered an inquiry by an SIT, comprising Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, Inspector General of Police Kiran S and Finance Department Special Secretary Neel Ratan.
A preliminary report was submitted to the government earlier this week, reportedly containing strong recommendations.
The Ram temple has been receiving huge donations since its inauguration in January 2024. The Trust reported earnings of nearly Rs 327 crore during FT2025-25, as per the latest annual report that was issued last September. This included Rs 153 crore in donations and Rs 173 crore in interest income.
The temple sees an average visitor count of 70,000 to 80,000 every day. The figure skyrockets during weekends and festivals.
The counting of cash donations is authorised to the SBI, which has engaged a private agency for the job. The cash offerings are made in four donation boxes and counted by a team of 14 people, including 11 bank staff and three from the temple trust.
