Champat Rai had already put his resignation in writing on June 26. It was a day after police arrested eight people over the alleged theft of temple donations in Ayodhya, among them his own driver, Ramashankar Yadav, known as Tinnu. On Monday, July 6, 2026, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust finally acted on it.
The meeting was held inside the Ram Temple complex. Gulf News, citing NDTV, described it as the most significant gathering since the trust was formed in 2020. President Mahant Nritya Gopal Das chaired, and treasurer Swami Govind Dev Giri convened it. Rai, still general secretary until the vote, was reportedly inside the complex that day but stayed away from the room.
Two exits, one interim appointment
The trust accepted the resignations of Rai and trustee Anil Mishra. A day later it said both had formally ceased to be members. Krishna Mohan, a retired Indian Forest Service officer, was named interim general secretary. “As of now, Krishna Mohan has been appointed as the interim General Secretary by the Trust, but the Trust may later decide to make this appointment permanent,” Giri said. The trust is due to take that question up at its next meeting on 22 July.
It also set up a three-member search committee to find a chief executive officer, and said it would tighten how donations are managed. The agenda had listed the unaudited financial statements for 2025-26 and a review of governance changes aimed at closer oversight of money coming in.
Rai and Mishra have both been questioned. Neither has been named in a criminal case, and no FIR has been registered against them. Some groups want that changed.
What investigators say they found
Alongside the meeting, police released new details from the case. One of the main accused, Avinash Shukla, allegedly admitted in custody that he spent nearly Rs19 lakh of the stolen money on relatives, friends and personal purchases. About Rs6 lakh went on one brother’s wedding, and another brother received Rs5-6 lakh. Police said they recovered Rs20.39 lakh in cash, 1,121 US dollars, gold jewellery, silver ornaments, other valuables and an SUV from his possession, plus a car worth about Rs3.5 lakh bought allegedly with the diverted funds. All eight accused were arrested on 25 June and remain in judicial custody. The Special Investigation Team and local police are running parallel inquiries.
Rai answers, politics heats up
On Tuesday Rai broke his silence in a handwritten letter addressed to “Ram devotees”. He called the accusations “baseless”, described his public life as an “open book”, and said he would answer every claim once the Special Investigation Team completes its inquiry. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh countered that the resignations were being used to divert attention from the larger controversy.
The trust, for its part, tried to calm devotees by disclosing donation records for the past three financial years. Giri said it holds more than 32 kg of gold-like items and over 1,518 kg of silver and silver-like items, all documented, and that 2,926 valuable articles given by devotees are safe, with receipts issued for each. Anyone with credible evidence, he said, should hand it to the investigators.
Sources
- Ram Temple Trust accepts Champat Rai's resignation amid donation theft probe | Gulf News
- Ayodhya Ram Mandir donation theft case: Champat Rai calls allegations 'baseless', to respond after SIT report | Livemint
Sources
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