Allegations surrounding the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust widened on Thursday after the head of a centuries-old shrine beside the Ram Mandir complex accused former trust general secretary Champat Rai and his associates of taking control of the temple through forged documents.
Hari Shankar Safariwala, who identified himself as the panch pramukh of Ram Niwas temple in Ayodhya’s Ramkot area, made the charge at a press conference in Lucknow attended by Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and former Ayodhya MLA Tej Narain Pandey. Safariwala alleged that complaints submitted to senior authorities had not produced action, even though the temple committee had repeatedly raised objections over the alleged takeover.
The allegation adds a fresh dimension to the turmoil around the trust, which is already under scrutiny over alleged theft and embezzlement of donations offered by devotees at the Ram temple. Rai stepped down as general secretary last week, while trust member Anil Mishra also resigned, after a Special Investigation Team began probing alleged irregularities in donation handling, accounting and supervision.
Safariwala claimed that Ram Niwas temple is a panchayati shrine administered by a committee and cannot be sold by any individual priest or functionary. He alleged that forged papers were prepared to show a property transaction worth ₹5.80 crore and that about ₹60 lakh was transferred through banking channels to the temple’s appointed priest and his relatives. He further claimed that the temple and adjoining land, valued by him at about ₹50 crore, had remained under the control of those he accused for five years.
The committee, Safariwala said, had refused offers to part with the shrine because no individual had ownership rights over it. He alleged that donations made by devotees during the period had not been accounted for despite repeated requests. No immediate response was available from Rai or the trust to the specific allegations.
The trust was constituted in February 2020 after the Supreme Court’s Ayodhya verdict cleared the way for construction of the Ram temple. It was tasked with overseeing construction and management of one of the country’s most politically significant religious projects. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the formation of the trust in the Lok Sabha on February 5, 2020. The trust has 15 members, including nominated members, religious figures, administrators and ex-officio representatives.
Rai, a senior Vishva Hindu Parishad functionary, became one of the most visible faces of the Ram temple project after his appointment as general secretary. He handled communication, coordination and construction-related oversight from Ayodhya. His resignation has deepened questions over accountability inside the trust, although his supporters have argued that the ongoing donation case may have involved lapses by lower-level staff rather than direct wrongdoing by senior office-bearers.
The donation probe began after allegations surfaced in June that cash and valuables offered by devotees had been diverted. The Uttar Pradesh government set up a three-member SIT headed by Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, with Lucknow Range Inspector General Kiran S and Finance Department Special Secretary Neelratan Kumar as members. The team examined records relating to donation boxes, cash counting, storage of valuables, CCTV coverage, accounting procedures and the role of temple staff.
Ayodhya police later registered an FIR naming eight people, including Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu, Lavkush Mishra, Anukalp Mishra, Avinash Shukla, Manish Yadav, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Chandra Srivastava and Karunesh Pandey. They were booked under provisions relating to theft by a servant, criminal breach of trust, cheating and criminal conspiracy under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Rai, Mishra and temple construction in-charge Gopal Rao were not named in the FIR but were questioned during the preliminary probe.
The case has exposed the scale of administrative pressure on the trust as it manages a temple that draws huge footfall and large volumes of offerings. About 40 personnel linked to the trust, State Bank of India and an agency were involved in counting donations in two shifts. Investigators have also examined whether standard operating procedures were followed when offerings were moved from donation boxes to secure storage and bank channels.
