Ram Mandir Trust officials resign amid donation theft probe

Two senior officials of the trust managing the Ram temple in Ayodhya resigned on Friday, citing moral responsibility amid an ongoing investigation into allegations that donations were embezzled. Champat Rai, the general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, and trustee Anil Mishra submitted their resignations.

The resignations follow the registration of a formal police case, known as a First Information Report (FIR), based on the preliminary findings of a Special Investigation Team (SIT). The Uttar Pradesh government had formed the three-member SIT on June 14 to probe allegations of irregularities in the handling of cash offerings at the temple. The FIR was filed under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The case stems from allegations made by former Samajwadi Party legislator Pawan Pandey, who claimed that between 7 crore and 7.5 crore rupees in donations had been misappropriated. The police have named eight individuals in the FIR, including people associated with counting and handling cash donations. All eight were arrested on Thursday and are expected to be produced before a magistrate.

In a letter to the trust's chairman, Rai stated he was...