Amid the uproar over the Ram Temple donation embezzlement case, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on Saturday announced that its general secretary Champat Rai and member Anil Mishra had submitted their resignations.
“At its next meeting, the trust will take a decision on their resignations,” Trust treasurer Govind Dev Giri said in a statement on Saturday (June 27, 2026).
In its first public statement amid the controversy, the Trust, which administers the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, said it would ensure a fair investigation into the incident.
“We are deeply pained, shocked, and extremely saddened by the incidents that have come to light in recent days at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
As agents of all Ram devotees and Ram sevaks serving the lord, we are committed to ensuring a fair investigation and restoring the confidence of devotees,” the statement added.
Amid the uproar over the Ram Temple donation embezzlement case, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on Saturday announced that its general secretary Champat Rai and member Anil Mishra had submitted their resignations.
“At its next meeting, the trust will take a decision on their resignations,” Trust treasurer Govind Dev Giri said in a statement on Saturday (June 27, 2026).
The statement comes a day after the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) denied reports of Mr. Rai’s resignation. Mr. Rai is also the vice-president of the VHP.
In its first public statement amid the controversy, the Trust, which administers the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, said it would ensure a fair investigation into the incident. “We are deeply pained, shocked, and extremely saddened by the incidents that have come to light in recent days at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. As agents of all Ram devotees and Ram sevaks serving the lord, we are committed to ensuring a fair investigation and restoring the confidence of devotees,” the statement added.
Mr. Rai and other Trust members are facing criticism over the donation theft case in which eight people have been arrested on charges of embezzlement, criminal conspiracy, fraud and breach of trust.
In the statement, the Trust said silver bricks, jewellery, and other offerings that the devotees had personally handed over to its officials are “safe and fully accounted for”. “As regards the alleged embezzlement of money from the temple’s donation boxes, an FIR has been filed, based on the interim report submitted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Uttar Pradesh government at the Trust’s request. Legal proceedings are under way, truth will come out and the guilty will be punished,” reads the statement.
However, the war of words over the episode intensified on Saturday, with the Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav vowing to “restore and nurture the eternal glory of Ayodhya as a centre of faith and devotion”. He claimed that a new SP-led Uttar Pradesh government will develop ‘Ayodhya’ as a unique and exemplary religious city, where devotees will experience true spirituality.
Congress leaders continued to demand the arrest of Mr. Rai and alleged that the government was shielding him. “Champat Rai is a small fish of the whole nexus, the real thieves are sitting in Delhi. The whole BJP-RSS ecosystem stole money from common devotees and used it to generate hate in society against marginalised sections,” senior U.P. Congress leader Anil Yadav said..
It was on June 25 that the Ayodhya police registered a first information report (FIR) in the case, on the basis of a petition from the Trust. Eight accused were booked on charges of embezzlement, criminal conspiracy, fraud and breach of Trust under sections 305, 306, 317, 317 (5), 61 and 3 (5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). All the eight – Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Luvkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey Rama Shankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava, Rama Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu – were arrested the same day and sent to judicial custody for three days till June 29.
