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‘Bank did not enforce…’: What Champat Rai blamed SBI for in his written submission amid Ram Temple ‘theft’ case
In his one-page written Hindi submission before the SIT, accessed by HT, Rai alleged that the rules set by the bank but were flouted but never flagged.
Former Ram Temple trust general secretary and VHP leader Champat Rai, who recently resigned from the role over alleged irregularities in donations to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, questioned the State Bank of India
In his one-page written Hindi submission before the special investigation team (SIT), accessed by HT, Rai alleged that the rules set by the bank but were flouted but never flagged. He said all banks in the country have strict chest room protocols – including frisking at entry and exit and uniforms without pockets.
“The bank did not enforce this, and despite being written in the guideline letter, it was not implemented. The clothes initially provided by the bank had pockets,” Rai said, claiming that the bank had “ignored” its own chest room rules. He urged the senior officials of the bank to explain “how such leniency” took place. “In my opinion, the rules operating in banks were completely ignored. Perhaps even the senior officials of the bank had no knowledge of this guideline letter, otherwise, the mistake would have been caught at some level,” he said.
He further added that the bank had selected youth for counting and kept them as housekeeping staff. There was no immediate response from SBI to this claim.
Ram Temple trust accepts resignations, Rai breaks silence
The remarks came even as the Ram Temple trust accepted the resignations of Rai as general secretary and Anil Mishra as member, removed administrator Gopal Rao, and announced a three-member panel to appoint a new chief executive officer. At a meeting of the trust members in Ayodhya, the body also appointed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh member and trustee Krishna Mohan – who had filed the first information report in the case – as interim general secretary.
Eight men have been arrested so far in the case, including Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Ram Shankar Yadav ‘Tinnu’, Manish Yadav, Subhash Srivastava, Avinash Shukla, Rama Shankar Mishra, and Karunesh Pandey. Ram Shankar Yadav is an aide of Rai and related to Manish Yadav. Anukalp Mishra and Luvkush Mishra are related to each other, and also to trust member Anil Mishra. The police had last week seized ₹79,85,493 from the eight arrested men.
Rai broke his silence on the matter on Tuesday, saying he had chosen to not say anything so far “as per the wishes of the trust.” “I chose to remain silent because, as per the Trust's wishes, an SIT (Special Investigation Team) submitted its preliminary report for verification. That report has now been made public,” Rai said, adding that he had faced “unfair allegations.”
Rai urged people to wait for the SIT's final decision, saying he would give an "appropriate response" after the completion of the probe. “The truth will come out in due course,” he added. “I have been serving in Ayodhya through the organisation since October 1991. My public life of about 45 years has always been like an open book, wherever I have worked. I respectfully bow before the truth,” he said.
