Ram temple trust chief resigns on ‘moral grounds’ amid donations embezzlement row: Reports

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust General Secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra on Friday resigned from their posts on “moral grounds” following the alleged embezzlement of donations made to the Ram temple in Ayodhya, ANI reported.

The trust manages the temple.

The development came a day after a first information report was registered against eight persons in the case. The FIR was filed based on a complaint by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.

All eight accused named in the FIR – Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu, Anukalp Mishra, Avinash Shukla, Karunesh Pandey, Manish Yadav, Lavkush Mishra, Ramashankar Mishra and Subhash Srivastava – have been arrested.

They were booked under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to theft by a clerk or servant, criminal breach of trust, stolen property and criminal conspiracy.

The FIR stated that the accused were involved in counting the cash and valuables donated by devotees at the temple, The Hindu reported. The accused had allegedly misappropriated donations collected through the donation boxes installed on the temple premises, the newspaper reported.

On Tuesday, the Special Investigation Team probing the alleged irregularities at the Ram temple submitted its preliminary report to the Uttar Pradesh government. The contents of the report have not been made public.

However, unidentified persons aware of its contents told The Indian Express that the...

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