The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust will hold a key meeting in Ayodhya on Monday to decide on the resignations of trust general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Kumar Mishra amid the ongoing probe into the alleged Ram Mandir donation theft case.
The meeting, scheduled to begin at 3 pm at the Yatri Suvidha Kendra inside the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi complex, is also expected to address major administrative and management issues arising from the controversy.
Ram Mandir Trust members to meet amid donation theft probe
According to officials, several senior trust members have already arrived in Ayodhya, while others are expected to participate virtually.
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Trustees Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati, Yugpurush Swami Parmanand, and Krishna Mohan have reached Ayodhya ahead of the meeting. Trust treasurer Govind Dev Giri, chairman of the construction committee Nripendra Misra, and Swami Vishwaprasannatirth are also expected to attend.
Senior advocate and trust member K Parasaran, along with some other trustees, will join the meeting virtually.
Mahant Dhinendra Das, another trustee based in Ayodhya, has travelled to Gujarat to visit his ailing guru and will participate online.
Representatives of the state government on the board who were appointed ex officio would take part in the meeting in person – Ayodhya district magistrate Shashank Tripathi and additional chief secretary (home) Sanjay Prasad. While the official of the central government, additional secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs Prashant Lokhande, would join the meeting virtually.
New appointments likely amid Trust crisis
In addition to finalizing on the resignations of Champat Rai and Anil Mishra, there could also be discussion on restructuring the administrative setup of the temple management.
The sources pointed out that fresh office-bearers could be appointed to fill the vacancy.
Incidentally, it was first flagged out internally in early June which came into public domain on June 27.
Following concerns raised by the trust, the Uttar Pradesh government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on June 13 to investigate alleged irregularities in the collection and handling of devotees’ donations.
Eight arrested in donation theft case
So far, the investigation has led to the arrest of eight members associated with the temple’s cash-counting operations.
The arrested individuals include:
Anukalp Mishra
Lavkush Mishra
Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu
Manish Yadav
Subhash Srivastava
Avinash Shukla
Rama Shankar Mishra
Karunesh Pandey
Investigators have alleged that cash was siphoned off during the collection and counting process before being deposited into designated bank accounts.
#WATCH | Ayodhya, UP | Swami Govind Dev Giri Ji Maharaj, Treasurer of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, arrives at Ram Mandir for the meeting of the Trust over alleged embezzlement of offerings from the temple and resignation of Champat Rai (General Secretary) and… https://t.co/qpBE7tC5mr pic.twitter.com/iKnAx24RPx
— ANI (@ANI) July 6, 2026
According to police officials, ₹79,85,493 has been recovered from the accused so far, including money allegedly hidden in bathrooms, haystacks and cow dung cakes.
Anukalp Mishra and Lavkush Mishra are related to trustee Anil Mishra, while Ram Shankar Yadav is reportedly an aide of Champat Rai.
Trust structure under Spotlight
Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust was formed on 5th February 2020, comprising a total of 15 trustees, including four ex-officio trustees.
Of the two original trustees, namely Kameshwar Chaupal and Vimlendra Mohan Pratap Mishra, both have passed away in 2025. Whereas Krishna Mohan of the Indian Forest Service who has retired replaced Chaupal as a trustee, there is one vacant position in the trusteeship.
The result of Monday’s discussion will play an important role in the future administrative structure of the trust while the investigation regarding the donation theft scandal proceeds.
FAQs
Why are the resignation of Champat Rai and Anil Mishra being discussed?
Both have resigned after the Ram Mandir donation theft case came into light, and the investigations found out some accused persons related to them.
How many persons have been arrested in the Ram Mandir donation case?
So far, eight persons who were involved in the cash counting activities at the temple have been arrested for this alleged crime.
