Retired Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra takes charge as first CEO of Ayodhya Ram temple trust

Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra (retired) on Monday assumed office as the first chief executive officer (CEO) of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which oversees the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Mishra, 62, reached Ayodhya on Sunday. He offered prayers at the temple on Monday morning before proceeding to his newly built office on the temple premises to take charge. He spent Sunday night at the Trust's Teerth Kshetra Bhawan in the Ramkot area.

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The Trust named Mishra its first CEO on September 2 as part of a restructuring exercise to improve its administrative functioning amid allegations of donation theft.

His appointment followed a multi-stage selection process that attracted 5,585 applications. The search committee shortlisted 16 candidates for in-person interviews held in Ayodhya on August 11 and 12.

The Trust had issued a clarification last week confirming that Mishra attended the interview on August 11. The clarification followed remarks by former IPS officer Rajesh Pandey that had triggered questions about the selection process.

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The Trust said Mishra appeared in the first interview session and featured among the three candidates recommended by the search committee.

Pandey subsequently clarified that he had not said Mishra skipped the interview. He said he had only mentioned that he did not see Mishra at the venue during the time slot scheduled for his own interview.