Who are Champat Rai and Anil Mishra, Two Ram Temple Trust Officials who resigned?

The top two officials of the trust managing the Ayodhya Ram Temple stepped down on "moral grounds" following an FIR and arrests of eight accused over the alleged embezzlement of devotees' donations.

A day after eight men were arrested for the alleged embezzlement of funds donated to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust’s general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra stepped down on Friday, citing "moral responsibility".

Both had come under opposition fire over the controversy, which has emerged as one of the most significant challenges to the temple administration since its consecration.

Champat Rai

Champat Rai, 79, was born in the Nagina tehsil of Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor district. After completing his post-graduation in Physics, he taught chemistry at a college in Bijnor for nearly 11 years before formally joining the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an organisation he had been associated with since childhood.

His political and organisational journey was shaped by the Emergency years of 1975-77, when he spent around 18 months in jail for opposing the government. After his release, Rai joined the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) in 1980 and gradually rose through its ranks.

In 1991, at the height of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, Rai was shifted to Ayodhya, where he emerged as a key strategist. He was also among those who participated in the karseva on December 6, 1992. Over the years, he served as secretary, joint general secretary and general secretary of the VHP, before being appointed its international vice-president in 2018.

Rai came into the national spotlight in February 2020 when he was appointed general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. From his base at Karsevakpuram in Ayodhya, he oversaw the temple's design, construction and the consecration ceremony held in January 2024.

Amid the current controversy, Ram Temple Construction Committee chairman Nripendra Misra has defended Rai, saying his integrity "can never be questioned" given his decades-long association with the movement.

Anil Mishra

Anil Mishra, 65, was one of the 15 trustees of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, formed in 2020.

A homoeopathic doctor by profession, Mishra has practised in Ayodhya for nearly four decades. Originally from Uttar Pradesh's Ambedkar Nagar district, he worked in public healthcare before retiring from government service.

Mishra has been associated with the RSS and the Ram Temple movement for decades. Ahead of the temple's consecration ceremony on January 22, 2024, Mishra and his wife, Usha Mishra, performed the rituals as "Pradhan Yajman", or main hosts, making him one of the key public faces of the event.

As a trustee, Mishra's role was largely administrative, involving coordination with other members for the supervision of the temple's affairs.

The Controversy

The resignations came after an FIR was registered on Thursday based on a complaint by trust member Krishna Mohan. The action followed recommendations made in the preliminary report of a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which had been constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government at the trust's own request on June 14.

All eight people named in the FIR were arrested hours later, including Rai's former driver, Ram Shankar Yadav, alias Tinnu Yadav. The case involves allegations that donations worth around Rs 7 crore to Rs 7.5 crore were misappropriated.

According to the SIT's preliminary findings, there were procedural lapses at several levels. These included gaps in employee verification, weak CCTV surveillance and irregularities in the movement of donations from the temple premises to bank deposits.