Ram Temple embezzlement issue: Trust advances crucial July 6 meeting; Champat Rai's future in focus

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust’s next meeting has been preponed from July 11 to July 6, which is likely to decide the fate of Trust’s general secretary Champat Rai and member Anil Mishra.

All 14 members of the Trust have been asked to remain available on July 6. The Trust is headed by 87-year-old Mahant Nritya Gopal Das from the temple town.

The Trust may also decide if the restructuring of day-to-day operations and supervision at a higher level is needed to ensure complete transparency.


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A decision on adding more people to the body could be taken as a replacement for Raja Ayodhya (Bimalendra Mohan Mishra), the Trust member who passed away in August last year.

Trust members can also take up the existing crowd management system to come up with a strategy to improve visitor experience.

“We need to add more facilities and amenities to protect devotees from extreme heat. Summer season is getting harsher and we have to plan by bringing experts on board,” a trust member said.

Sources said the "emergency meeting" was convened at the request of the Trust's treasurer, Govind Dev Giri.

In a communication to the Trust members, Giri said the meeting had been advanced as several important issues needed to be discussed. The Trust, which was registered with the Income Tax Department through a notification issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes in May 2020, has four ex-officio members representing the Centre and the state government.

The previous meeting was held on March 21, with preparations for the Ram Navami celebrations being the key agenda. The Trust meets once every three months.

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“All this while, no transparency was being maintained. Only a handful of trust office-bearers were running the show with complete authority over all the internal matters. No record or documents were shared with others. With faith of the devotees shaken, we need to introduce checks and balances at multiple levels. More layers will be added to the overall decision-making process,” a source said.

On June 27, Giri had confirmed that both Rai and Mishra had submitted their resignations.


(With inputs from TOI)