Ram Temple Trust Treasurer Meets Champat Rai Amidst Donation Theft Probe

Ayodhya: Ram temple trust treasurer Govind Dev Giri on Thursday said Champat Rai is not upset after resigning as its general secretary in the wake of the alleged donation theft and is fully supportive of the new temple management system being put in place.

"I met Champat Rai ji yesterday mainly to check on his health. He is healthy, solution-oriented and has no misgivings about his resignation," Giri told reporters here.

Giri has been staying here since the July 6 meeting of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, where Rai's resignation, along with that of other trustee Anil Mishra, was accepted.

A day after the meeting, Rai said in a letter to "Ram devotees" that he would respond to allegations against him after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged embezzlement of donations submits its final report.

Along with a letter, a purported statement submitted by him to the SIT also came to light, in which he questioned the role of the State Bank of India in the Ram temple's donation-counting process.

Giri, who has maintained that Rai remained "untainted" in his eyes but he trusted the "wrong people" for too long, allowing the alleged embezzlement to go undetected, visited Rai following his letter.

"He (Champat) is an old veteran who has devoted his life to the country. He is fully supportive of the new (temple management) system being put in place and he isn't upset or angry," Giri told the media about his meeting with Rai on Wednesday, which apparently lasted a couple of hours.

"I also met seers of Ayodhya who are in agreement and happy about the new temple management system being put in place," he said.

Giri said the trust is committed to implementing changes that improve the temple management system, and everyone agreed with this.

Rai has been replaced by former IFS officer and trustee Krishna Mohan, who had lodged a police complaint against eight people, who have since been arrested, following the preliminary SIT report.

The trust has also set up a three-member committee to identify a CEO. The panel comprises retired judge Pramod Kohli, retired Lt Gen Vishnukant Chaturvedi and trustee Suresh Haware.

The trust will meet next on July 22 to discuss these and other measures as part of a plan to plug loopholes that led to the alleged donation theft.

A major controversy erupted in the first week of June after alleged irregularities were detected in the counting of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The Uttar Pradesh government constituted an SIT following the recommendation of the trust.

The SIT found prima facie evidence of embezzlement, following which an FIR was registered and eight people associated with the temple's donation-counting were arrested. Further investigation is underway.