Ex-Ram Temple official Champat Rai gets clean chit in donation theft case weeks after resignation

Former general secretary Chapat Rai was given a clean chit by the Special Investigating Team probing the alleged donations theft at the Ram Temple. Another accused, a former member of the trust, Anil Mishra was also found not guilty in the matter.Ram Mandir Trust general secretary Champat Rai resigned amid the investigation into the case. (PTI)Both the members had resigned from their positions at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on June 27 amid an ongoing probe into alleged irregularities involving temple donations.Ram temple fund theft controversyThe controversy first surfaced on June 7 when Samajwadi Party leader Tej Narayan ‘Pawan’ Pandey alleged donations worth ₹5 crore to ₹7.5 crore were siphoned off from temple offerings.On June 13, the state government set up the SIT on the request of the temple trust. The panel, comprising Lucknow divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, Lucknow Range inspector-general Kiran S and special secretary (finance) Neel Ratan, conducted a preliminary inquiry in Ayodhya between June 15 and 20. People familiar with the investigation said the SIT scrutinised the entire donation management chain, including collection boxes, cash counting, storage, accounting procedures, access control and CCTV surveillance. The preliminary inquiry flagged prima facie irregularities in the handling of cash and valuables offered by devotees.After the landmark 2019 Supreme Court verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute, the temple trust was set up by the Government of India to oversee the construction of the temple and was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2020, according to its website. Out of its 15 members, 12 were set up by the government and in its first meeting, another three members were picked, said the trust’s website.The trust received donations worth ₹82.78 crore between April 1, 2025, and February 28, 2026, according to the details furnished by the trust before its executive committee during a meeting in Ayodhya on March 21.