Ram Mandir Trust Confirms Key Officials' Offer to Resign, Says Won't Let Scandal Repeat
New Delhi: In its first official statement on the Ram Mandir embezzlement case, the temple's trust on Saturday (June 27) confirmed that general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra have tendered their resignations, and said it will “ensure that such unfortunate situations do not arise” again.
Rai and Mishra's resignations will be considered at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust's next meeting, treasurer Govind Dev Giri said, a day after the Uttar Pradesh police arrested eight people in connection with the donations embezzlement case lodged on Thursday, in turn well over two weeks after the allegations first became public.
Giri, who said the trust is “shocked, hurt and deeply saddened” by the “events” of the last few weeks, wrote that devotees' gifts such as silver bricks and jewellery are secure and accounted for.
“We assure everyone that we will ensure that such unfortunate situations do not arise in the future. We will insist that the perpetrators receive the harshest punishments, as appropriate by law,” said Giri, adding that the trust will not let “attempts by antisocial, irreligious and selfish elements to tarnish Sanatan Dharma”.
A long-time associate of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), and of the movement that demolished the Babri Masjid in 1992 and constructed the Ram Mandir in its place, Rai and Mishra had reportedly resigned on Friday but a spokesperson for the VHP called such reports “lies”.
Neither Rai nor Mishra are named in the FIR in the case, although the former is said to have been involved in overseeing day-to-day affairs at the temple and was reportedly questioned by the special investigation team (SIT) formed on June 13 amid public pressure on the government.
A judicial magistrate in Ayodhya said on Friday that the authorities recovered Rs 79,85,493 from seven of the eight accused, who were all allegedly associated with the process of counting cash and valuables.
The SIT found in its interim report – on the basis of which the trust filed a complaint and the police subsequently lodged an FIR – that standard operating procedures relating to pocket-less clothes for counting staff, regular frisking and the deployment of security guards that were signed off by Mishra were not followed, PTI reported on Saturday citing a person familiar with the matter.
When the allegations broke out earlier this month, Rai had said on behalf of the trust that “nothing noteworthy has come to anyone's attention” in the periodic audits of the trust's work.
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