Nearly three months after the Ram temple donation-theft controversy surfaced and led to multiple probes, including the constitution of two Special Investigation Teams, and the resignation of Champat Rai as general secretary, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on Wednesday initiated a major restructuring as it appointed Air Marshal (retired) Jeetendra Mishra as its first full-time chief executive officer (CEO) and made the incumbent treasurer Govind Dev Giri new full-time general secretary, replacing Krishna Mohan, who was holding charge as interim general secretary.
The trust also appointed Delhi-based businessman Mahesh Bhagchandka as the new treasurer. Bhagchandka, former additional advocate general Madan Mohan Pandey, a native of Ayodhya who fought the Ram Janmabhoomi case since the 1990s, and Nirmala Yadav, former principal of PG College, Shikohabad, are the three new trustees appointed to fill vacancies in the trust. Nirmala is the first woman inducted into the trust.
With this, curtains fell on talk of Champat Rai’s return. Rai had resigned on June 26 after the donation theft row.
The decisions came during a crucial meeting of the trust’s board in Ayodhya.
“Out of three names shortlisted by the search committee, the trust selected former Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra for the CEO’s post,” said Krishna Mohan after the meeting.
“Govind Dev Giri has accepted to be full-time general secretary,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“Govind Dev Giri has accepted to be full-time general secretary,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}However, no decision could be taken on the appointment of spokesperson for the Trust, said Mohan.
Mishra’s appointment as CEO for three years marks a shift from trustee-led management to professional corporate oversight for daily security, logistics, crowd and multi-crore funds.
Reacting to his appointment, Mishra said his four decades of service in the Indian Air Force would serve him well in his new role. In an interview with HT, he also said he looked forward to taking on the challenges and responsibilities ahead, with team spirit as his guiding principle.
“I am very fortunate because from the age of 17 years till 60 years, I got the opportunity to serve the nation in the Indian Air Force. I include the time spent in the NDA. That’s 43 years in uniform. And a few months after I retired, I got this opportunity to serve the Shri Ram Temple and the Ram Bhakts. I think there cannot be anybody more fortunate than me,” he said. A native of Bhopatpura village under Bhatpar Rani police station in Deoria district of eastern Uttar Pradesh, Mishra is one of the IAF’s most decorated officers who led the Indian Air Force’s Western Air Command in Operation Sindoor. He also was part of the team that operationalised laser-guided bombs which delivered precise, devastating strikes on Pakistani intruders at Tiger Hill and Muntho Dhalo during the Kargil War as Squadron Leader in 1999.
He was bestowed with Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal, and later the Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal for Operation Sindoor leadership.
Mishra served in the Indian Air Force for four decades before retiring on April 30, 2026 as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla (Pune), he was commissioned as a fighter pilot on December 6, 1986. He logged over 3,000 flying hours across 18 plus aircraft types.
The search committee headed by Justice (Retd) Pramod Kohli had submitted a panel of three after AI-enabled screening of 5,585 applicants and face-to-face interviews. The two other shortlisted candidates were former Major General Sanjay Pratap Singh and Shruti Bharadwaj, Krishna Mohan said.
Giri said the trust may appoint a joint CEO or deputy CEO if required and would prepare an SOP specifying the CEO’s duties and responsibilities.
The donation theft controversy first surfaced on June 7 when Samajwadi Party leader Tej Narayan ‘Pawan’ Pandey alleged that donations worth ₹5 crore to ₹7.5 crore were siphoned off from temple offerings. On June 13, the state government set up the first SIT comprising Lucknow divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, inspector general of police (Lucknow range) Kiran S and special secretary (finance) Neel Ratan.
The SIT was in Ayodhya from June 15 to 20 for the first phase of its probe and submitted its preliminary report to the state home department on June 23.
On June 25, a first information report was registered against eight named accused and other unidentified people under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 306, 316(5), 317(4), 317(5), 61 and 3(5), relating to offences such as criminal breach of trust, cheating, theft and criminal conspiracy, along with Section 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
All eight accused named in the FIR -- Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu, Manish Yadav, Subhash Srivastava, Avinash Shukla, Rama Shankar Mishra and Karunesh Pandey -- were arrested on June 26.
A second SIT was constituted in July following the Supreme Court’s direction for an IPS-led investigation. The second SIT is headed by inspector general of police (Lucknow range) Kiran S and includes deputy inspector general (Ayodhya range) Somen Barma, Ayodhya senior superintendent of police Gaurav Grover and additional superintendent of police (Barabanki) Ritesh Kumar Singh. On August 17, the first SIT’s final report flagged “gross lapses” in the functioning of the trust and the lack of professional financial management in the Trust. However, it found no evidence of financial impropriety at the leadership level. The report exonerated former Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra, stating that there was no evidence of their direct involvement in the alleged misappropriation of donation money.