Ram Temple Trust to Meet Over Champat Rai, Anil Mishra Resignations

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust will hold a key meeting on Monday at Mani Ram Chhawni in Ayodhya. The gathering is the first since allegations of donation embezzlement surfaced.

Trust general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra submitted their resignations after being linked to the donation theft row. Trust treasurer Govind Dev Giri has summoned all regular and ex-officio members to attend the deliberations, according to PTI.

Trust Leadership Attendance

Trust president Nritya Gopal Das, 89, is highly likely to attend following his Friday discharge from a Lucknow hospital, hospital sources reported to PTI. Das was admitted on June 29 with a urinary tract infection and breathing difficulties.

Senior trustee K Parasaran may participate via video conference due to age-related travel limitations, sources reported to PTI.

"All the 14 trustees have been invited for the meeting. We hope that all of them participate," special invitee Gopal Rao told reporters,

Administrative Restructuring Plans

The Trust will consider a new administrative structure and the appointment of a chief executive officer if the resignations are accepted. The role of special invitee Rao and the future management framework for the Ram temple are also expected to be discussed.

Currently, the Trust lacks a vice president to preside over meetings. This vacancy follows the pending resignations and the recent death of trustee Bimlendra Mohan Pratap Mishra. The Trust currently comprises 11 regular members, including Das, Vasudevanand Saraswati, Vishwaprasannatirth, Parmanand Giri, Govind Dev Giri, Krishna Mohan, Dinendra Das and Parasaran.

Ex-officio invitees include Prashant Lokhande of the Union Home Ministry, Uttar Pradesh Additional Chief Secretary Sanjay Prasad, Ayodhya District Magistrate Shashank Tripathi and Nripendra Mishra, former principal secretary to the prime minister.

The Trust will review and approve unaudited financial statements, balance sheets and expenditure details for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

Dual Embezzlement Probes

The meeting will include a briefing on the interim findings of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) administrative probe. The tenure of the SIT administrative probe has been extended until the end of July.

A parallel police investigation is underway following an FIR lodged on the Trust's complaint. The police are investigating the matter alongside the SIT.

Investigators have recorded statements from Rai, Mishra and Rao. However, no FIR has been filed against them.