Champat Rai Resigns From Ram Temple Trust In Donation Theft Case

Champat Rai, the General Secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, the body overseeing the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, has resigned after eight members from the board were arrested in the donation theft case.

Another trust member Anil Mishra has submitted his resignation.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the alleged theft of cash donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya has led to the registration of an FIR against eight people, including Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav, a close aide and driver of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust General Secretary Champat Rai.

The FIR, based on CCTV footage and the SIT's preliminary findings, alleges that the accused siphoned off devotees' donations while handling and counting cash collected from the temple's donation boxes.

The other accused are Anukalp Mishra, Subhash Srivastava, Avinash Shukla, Karunesh Pandey, Manish Yadav, Lav Kush Mishra and Rama Shankar Mishra. All eight were part of the team responsible for collecting, handling or counting cash offerings made by devotees.

The case has been registered under Sections 306, 316(5), 317(4), 317(5), 61 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with charges related to theft, criminal breach of trust, cheating and criminal conspiracy.

Notably, despite political demands for action against senior Trust officials, including General Secretary Champat Rai. However, his name does not figure in the FIR.

Earlier reports had indicated that the SIT's preliminary investigation did not find sufficient grounds to recommend criminal proceedings against him. Officials, however, maintain that the probe is ongoing and further action will depend on the evidence that emerges.

How the Alleged Theft Was Uncovered

The alleged scam came to light in the last week of May when Trust officials noticed discrepancies between the cash being collected from donation boxes and the amount eventually deposited in the bank.

Each donation box typically contains around ₹6-7 lakh when opened. But over several weeks, officials observed a recurring shortage of ₹500 notes in the cash bundles, prompting them to suspect that money was being stolen during the counting process, Times Now reported.

To verify their suspicions, Trust members secretly installed hidden cameras inside the room where donations were counted.

The footage allegedly revealed a carefully planned operation. Investigators claim one employee deliberately stood in front of the regular CCTV cameras, blocking their view, while another quietly removed currency notes from the bundles and hid them inside his clothes, the report said.

Although the theft went unnoticed on the visible surveillance cameras, the hidden cameras reportedly captured the entire sequence.

A Second Modus Operandi

The investigation has also uncovered what officials describe as another method used to siphon off temple donations.

According to the report, employees allegedly inserted extra currency notes into each bundle while counting the cash. When the money reached the bank, officials counted only the number of bundles instead of verifying the number of notes in every bundle before preparing the deposit voucher.

Before the cash was deposited, the extra notes were allegedly removed during transit. Since the number of bundles remained unchanged, the bank records matched the vouchers, allowing the missing cash to go undetected.

Who Are the Accused?

According to the FIR:

Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu - Associate and driver of Champat Rai. Investigators allege he played a key role in diverting donation money.

Anukalp Mishra - Head of the cash-counting operation.

Subhash Srivastava - Retired bank employee who supervised the counting process.

Avinash Shukla - Cash-counting staff.

Karunesh Pandey - Cash-counting staff.

Manish Yadav - Cash-counting staff.

Lav Kush Mishra - Cash-counting staff.

Rama Shankar Mishra - Cash-counting staff.

The Uttar Pradesh government had constituted the SIT after allegations surfaced that cash offerings made by devotees were being siphoned off before reaching the temple's official accounts. Following the team's preliminary findings, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust lodged the FIR with Ayodhya police.

The investigation remains underway, with officials saying more action could follow if additional evidence emerges.