Crucial Ram Mandir Trust meeting tomorrow; future of Champat Rai to be on agenda

Ayodhya: The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust is scheduled to convene a high-stakes meeting on Monday against the backdrop of ongoing inquiries into the alleged misappropriation of donations. Trust sources said that the primary focus of the deliberations will likely be the resignations tendered by the Trust's general secretary, Champat Rai, and trustee Anil Mishra.

The session will take place at Mani Ram Chhawni, the monastery of Trust chief Nritya Gopal Das. Trust treasurer Govind Dev Giri has directed all regular and ex officio members to be present for the crucial talks.

According to sources, Trust president Nritya Gopal Das, who remains hospitalised in a critical condition, and veteran trustee K Parasaran, who faces age-related travel constraints, are expected to join the proceedings via video link.

Insiders reveal that the Trust will deliberate on the resignations of Rai and Mishra, both of whom stepped down following allegations connecting them to the embezzlement case. Should their resignations be formally accepted, the panel is anticipated to draft a new administrative layout for the Trust's day-to-day affairs. The future responsibilities of special invitee Gopal Rao are also on the table for review.

Furthermore, the board is set to be briefed on the preliminary outcomes of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the alleged financial irregularities, alongside discussing a revised management structure for the Ram temple. The meeting will also review and approve an unaudited balance sheet and the income-expenditure statement for the 2025-26 financial year. Discussions regarding the hiring of a chief executive officer to handle temple administration are also highly anticipated.

At present, the body has 11 regular members. Following the resignations of Rai and Mishra, combined with the recent demise of trustee Bimlendra Mohan Pratap Mishra, the Trust currently functions without a vice president to lead meetings when the president is unavailable.

The ex officio contingent includes Central government secretary Prashant Lekhande, UP state secretary Sanjay Prasad, Ayodhya DM Shashank Tripathi and Nripendra Mishra, the former Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister.

This pivotal meeting takes place as two concurrent investigations track the alleged fraud. While the SIT administrative probe's deadline has been pushed to the end of July, the police are handling a separate criminal inquiry initiated by a complaint from the Trust itself.

Police and SIT officials have already recorded testimonies from Champat Rai, Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao, though no formal FIR has been registered against these three specific functionaries so far.

PTI