Lucknow: The general secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, Champat Rai, and its member Anil Mishra have resigned from their posts, the Trust said on Saturday and assured that a fair inquiry will be conducted into allegations related to the Ram temple donations.
A statement issued by treasurer Govind Dev Giri said that the Trust has received the two resignations and will decide on them in its next meeting.
The trustees are “shocked” by the developments and are duty-bound to ensure that a fair inquiry is conducted and the faith of devotees is restored, Giri said.
On Thursday night, the police arrested eight people in connection with the alleged embezzlement of donations received at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
“We are shocked, hurt, and deeply saddened by the events we have heard about over the past few days at Shri Ram Temple (Ayodhya). Serving here as representatives of all Ram devotees and Ram sevaks, we want to assure the devotees of Lord Ram that we are committed to a fair investigation,” Giri said in the statement.
The treasurer also claimed that “silver bricks, ornaments, etc.,” donated by private persons to the temple are safe with the Trust with proper accounting.
“We assure everyone that we will ensure that such unfortunate situations do not arise in future. We demand that those guilty get a stringent punishment. We will not allow attempts by anti-social, anti-religious and selfish elements to tarnish the image of Sanatan Dharm to succeed,” Giri said.
“We are confident that the clouds will clear, the darkness will disappear, the truth-light of the Sun will shine, and the strong stream of devotion to Lord Ram will continue to flow uninterrupted. Jai Shri Ram,” he added.
Meanwhile, Vishva Hindu Parishad, of which Rai is a vice president, posted Giri’s letter about the resignations on social media.
A former driver of Rai is among the eight arrested in connection with the alleged theft.
The police have recovered nearly Rs 80 lakh and some foreign currency from those nabbed, sources said.
VHP chief Alok Kumar said that the Ram Temple Trust will meet in Ayodhya on July 7 to decide on the next course of action following the resignation of the two senior Trust functionaries.
He said he hopes that a chief executive officer is appointed to manage the affairs of the Ram Temple.
“It’s true that they (Rai and Mishra) sent in their resignation to both the president and the treasurer of the trust, taking moral responsibility for the Ram Temple Donation Row. The Trust will address the issue at its July 7 meeting,” Kumar told PTI on the phone.
Their decision should be respected since they took a “moral stand,” he said.
