Ayodhya temple trust overhauls leadership amid donation theft allegations

Authorities at the grand temple to Hindu god Ram in the northern Indian city of Ayodhya have announced a leadership overhaul after allegations that tens of millions of rupees received in donations have been stolen.

The trust that manages the shrine said it had accepted the resignation of general secretary Champat Rai and replaced him with an interim official.

Inaugurated in January 2024 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the temple has become one of India's most important pilgrimage centres and attracts 50 million visitors annually, external.

One of Modi's election promises, it replaced a 16th-Century mosque torn down by Hindu mobs in 1992, sparking nationwide riots in which nearly 2,000 people died.

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust - an independent trust which manages the shrine - held its first meeting on Monday after allegations of donation thefts surfaced last month.

The trust had earlier denied any wrongdoing. But the state government set up a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to inquire into the allegations.

Following an interim report from the SIT, Ayodhya police registered a case of alleged embezzlement, naming eight people. They were arrested and were being questioned, police said.

After Monday's meeting, trust treasurer Govind Dev Giri told a press conference that Rai and another official, Anil Mishra, had resigned after police lodged a complaint on 25 June.

He named retired forest officer Krishna Mohan as interim general secretary. Mohan is a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) - umbrella organisation of Hindu nationalist groups, including Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Giri also said a new CEO post had been created and added that a three-member panel would recommend names for it.

Giving details of the donations received by the temple, Giri said the trust - which collects, sorts and counts the offerings - had received 5.82bn rupees ($61m; £45.63m) from devotees until 31 March 2026. It had spent 3.19bn rupees ($33.48m; £25m) of the collections on the shrine's upkeep, he added.

In his first comments, Mohan said his "priority was to identify and close any loophole so such incidents are never repeated". The allegations, he added, had affected the trust's image and generated distrust in society.

The allegations of theft at one of India's most revered and politically consequential temples were made by a former accounts supervisor who says he was dismissed after raising concerns about alleged wrongdoing internally.

His claims snowballed into a major political row, with opposition parties questioning the handling of cash, jewellery, gold and silver donated by devotees.

Petitions were filed in the state high court and Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored investigation by the federal police.

It's not clear how much money has been stolen, but a former city legislator has alleged more than 70m rupees, external ($739,550; £560,420) has gone missing.

Champat Rai had earlier rejected claims that donations or offerings were improperly handled.

At Monday's press conference, Giri did not say how much money or valuables were stolen, but demanded strict action against those involved and said the trust's primary concern was the damage caused to the sentiments of devotees and the institution's credibility, The Indian Express, external reported.

"Whether the theft was small or big comes later. The atmosphere that has been created is what has hurt all of us," he said.

The construction of the temple was "a moment of immense joy" and "the incident of theft from the donation boxes during counting is deeply painful and shameful for all of us", he added.

Giri also said that "the temple trustees did not commit the theft", news agency ANI reported.

"This betrayal was perpetrated by people whom Champat Rai, whom we consider a truly noble and great soul, trusted and kept close for so many years. It was those people who betrayed the trust," he added.

Giri said the trust would next meet on 22 July and expected that the police would have submitted its final report by then.

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