As the allegations of donations row at Ayodhya's Ram Temple have kicked up a storm, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust will hold a crucial meeting on Monday.
Amid the ongoing probe into the alleged embezzlement of donations, the fate of Trust general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra—and the resignations they have submitted—is likely to dominate the agenda, PTI reported, citing Trust sources.
The meeting will be held at Mani Ram Chhawni, the monastery of Trust president Nritya Gopal Das and the Trust treasurer Govind Dev Giri has asked all regular and ex officio members to attend the deliberations.
However, Das is hospitalised, where he is said to be in a critical condition. He is likely to attend the meeting via video conferencing, along with another senior trustee, K Parasaran, who cannot travel due to age-related health issues, the report said, citing sources.
New administratuve structure likely to be discussed
{{/usCountry}}However, Das is hospitalised, where he is said to be in a critical condition. He is likely to attend the meeting via video conferencing, along with another senior trustee, K Parasaran, who cannot travel due to age-related health issues, the report said, citing sources.
New administratuve structure likely to be discussed
{{/usCountry}}Rai and Mishra's resignations are going to dominate the agenda as the duo stepped down following the alleged irregularities in the donations. The Trust may consider new administrative structure if the resignations are accepted. The role of special invitee Gopal Rao is also expected to be discussed.
Also read: Congress attacks VHP, says it is ‘emotionally misleading Hindus’ in Ram Temple donation theft row
The interim findings of the the Special Investigation Team (SIT) are also expected to be discussed at the key meeting.
An unaudited income and expenditure statement, balance sheet, and other financial details for the 2025-26 fiscal year will be presented for approval, the report added, citing sources. .
Discussions regarding the appointment of a chief executive officer to oversee the management of the Ram temple are anticipated to take place during the meeting.
The Trust that is caught in the donation row currently comprises 11 regular members, including president Nritya Gopal Das, Vasudevanand Saraswati, Vishwaprasannatirth, Parmanand Giri, treasurer Govind Dev Giri, Krishna Mohan, Dinendra Das, and K Parasaran.
The Trust currently lacks a vice president to preside over meetings in the president's absence.
Questions raised over Trust's functioning
As the probe continues in the case, questions are now being raised as to why the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Khetra Trust did not frame rules or a manual for appointing around 1500 employees and paying their salaries, even though rules and a manual exist for appointing priests.
“Like manuals for priests, what service rules were framed for the rest of the employees and fixation of their salary?” a Trust employee told HT on condition of anonymity.
“Several crores must have been spent on wages of 1,500 employees. Details of income-expenditure along with revenue expense and assets under separate heads were presented in meetings, which the trustees kept approving. However, the question of service rules for these employees was never raised,” he added.
Some people associated with the trust have raised the question whether character verification of employees working in the Ram temple complex was done by police before their appointment, according to the person quoted above.
The increasing influence of Ram Shankar Yadav ‘Tinnu’, one of the eight men arrested in the case—from a sevadar (volunteer) to a powerful person in temple management and a trusted aide of Champat Rai—went unnoticed even by the trustees, he said.
In the last six years, about two dozen meetings of the 15-member executive committee of the trust were mandatorily held every fourth month. Almost all executive committee members attended the meetings physically or virtually.
(With PTI inputs)