Ram Temple Trust Accepts Resignations Amid Donation Theft Probe

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust in Ayodhya accepted the resignations of General Secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra after a Special Investigation Team (SIT) revealed alleged theft of temple donations. The trust appointed veteran IFS officer Krishna Mohan as interim General Secretary and formed a three‑member high‑power committee – retired Judge Pramod Kohli, retired Lt General Vishnukant Chaturvedi and retired Lt General Suresh Haware – to select a permanent Chief Executive Officer.

The SIT’s preliminary report said about ₹8 million (approximately $84,000) was recovered from eight arrested individuals, while pointing to systematic lapses in cash‑counting procedures, weak monitoring and inadequate segregation of duties. Trust treasurer Swami Govind Dev Giri said the incident “hurts millions of devotees” and pledged to implement tighter financial guardrails.

The trust scheduled a follow‑up meeting on 22 July to consider the SIT’s final findings and the CEO appointment. Opposition parties have called for the trust’s dissolution and a Supreme Court‑supervised inquiry, while the VHP praised the trust’s steps and vowed that “not a single rupee” will be stolen again.