Ram Temple trust chief Champat Rai, Anil Mishra resign amid donation theft row: Reports

Ram Temple trust chief Champat Rai has reportedly resigned amid a donation theft case. Trust member Anil Mishra has also stepped down from his position. Their resignation comes amid an ongoing investigation into the alleged misappropriation of donations collected at the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya. The development follows the arrest of eight people named in an FIR linked to the alleged embezzlement of temple donations.

The complaint was lodged by trust member Krishna Mohan, who alleged that embezzled donations were offered at the temple and misappropriated through criminal conspiracy. The case was registered under sections 306, 316(5), 317(4), 317(5), 61, and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

In the FIR, eight people were named, including Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Yadav, Rajesh Pathak, Ramashankar Yadav (Tinnu Yadav), Avinash Shukla, Karunesh Pandey, Subhash Srivastava, and other unidentified persons. All eight were taken into police custody and were being questioned.

The investigation was launched after former SP MLA from Ayodhya, Pawan Pandey, alleged that donations worth Rs 7 crore to Rs 7.5 crore had been siphoned off from the Ram Mandir. Following the allegations, the Uttar Pradesh government set up a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) on June 14 at the request of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.

The formal complaint was registered after the findings and suggestions in the preliminary report of the SIT.

Earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath slammed the opposition, accusing them of attempting to derive political benefit from the issue.