Ram Temple Donation Theft Case: “I Knew About It & Recovered ₹81 Lakh From Accused,” Champat Rai To SIT

Ayodhya: Former Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust General Secretary Champat Rai and trustee Dr Anil Mishra have acknowledged that Rs 81 lakh was returned to the Trust after the alleged theft of devotees' donations, according to their joint resignation letter that has surfaced for the first time.

They later told the SIT about the theft, which corroborated the points they mentioned in their resignation letter.

The resignation letter, addressed to the Trust's president and treasurer, also reveals that the two senior functionaries recommended a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the case and decided to step aside from all Trust responsibilities pending the outcome of the investigation.

According to the letter, confusion and concern had spread among devotees after media reports began appearing from June 8 regarding the counting of money collected in the temple's donation boxes. It said several people had made "baseless statements", adding to the controversy.

The letter states that on the night of June 4, a trustee was informed that five or six youths had allegedly stolen money during the counting of donations. After deliberations, CCTV footage was reviewed on the morning of June 5, leading to the identification of some of the suspects.

The former office-bearers said the Trust initially decided against immediately lodging an FIR with the police. Instead, the identified youths were questioned.

According to the resignation letter, between the night of June 5 and June 8, the accused and their family members returned a total of Rs 81 lakh to the Trust. It further claims that they also submitted written confessions admitting to the theft.

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The letter says that as media attention on the case intensified, the Trust requested the Uttar Pradesh government to order an SIT investigation so that the truth could be established and the reputation of everyone associated with the Trust could be protected.

The government accepted the request and constituted an SIT, which began its investigation on June 15, the letter states.

In the concluding part of the resignation letter, Champat Rai and Dr Anil Mishra wrote that they had decided to distance themselves from all Trust-related responsibilities until the truth was fully established. They requested that the letter be treated as their resignation.

The Trust accepted the resignations of both office-bearers during its meeting held on July 6.

Meanwhile, the newly constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT) held its first virtual meeting on Wednesday and reviewed the progress of the Ram Temple donation theft investigation. Although the team is yet to hold its first formal in-person meeting, sources said all three members discussed the investigation carried out so far and examined the police action taken in the case.

The Supreme Court had directed the constitution of a new SIT on July 20 to investigate the alleged theft from the Ram Temple donation boxes. In compliance with the order, the Uttar Pradesh government constituted the three-member panel on July 26. The SIT comprises Lucknow IG Kiran S, Ayodhya Range DIG Somen Verma and Ayodhya SSP Dr Gaurav Grover. The investigation will now proceed under the supervision of the new team, which is expected to review the evidence collected so far, the interrogation of the accused, details related to the recovered money, the properties allegedly purchased with the stolen funds and other aspects of the case before deciding the future course of the probe.