Ayodhya: The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has convened an emergency executive meeting on Monday, July 6, to address the widening fallout from the alleged theft of cash and valuables donated to the temple. The meeting, scheduled for 3 p.m. at Mani Ram Das Chhavni—the ashram of Trust president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das in Ayodhya—marks the first time board members will gather since the multi-crore embezzlement controversy erupted. Chief among the five-point agenda issued by Treasurer Swami Govind Dev Giri is a formal review of the resignations submitted by General Secretary Champat Rai and Trustee Dr. Anil Mishra, both of whom stepped down taking moral responsibility after the scam surfaced.
The high-level meeting coincides with rising legal pressure, including a Public Interest Litigation filed in the Supreme Court by Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Sudhakar Singh, seeking to transfer the ongoing probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation and demanding a complete public disclosure of all temple donations received since 2020. Concurrently, the Faizabad Bar Association has petitioned local police to register a formal FIR against Rai, Mishra, and special invitee Gopal Rao, all of whom have already been interrogated. The police and an independent Special Investigation Team—whose tenure has been extended until the end of July—are conducting parallel inquiries. While eight lower-level temple operators have been remanded to judicial custody, investigators recently secured the police remand of key accused Avinash Shukla following a major recovery of incriminating evidence from his Ayodhya residence.
To restore public confidence and introduce institutional checks and balances, the Trust will deliberate on creating a dedicated Chief Executive Officer position to oversee day-to-day secular and financial operations, a move that would require an amendment to the Trust’s original bylaws. Names under consideration for the role include Construction Committee Chairman Nripendra Mishra and retired bureaucrat Yogeshwar Ram Mishra. Additionally, the board will review and seek approval for the unaudited income and expenditure statements along with the balance sheets for the 2025-26 financial year. The restructuring discussions carry extra urgency as several senior trustees, including the 87-year-old Mahant Nritya Gopal Das—who is currently recovering at a Lucknow hospital—remain inactive due to health issues, alongside an existing vacancy left by the demise of trustee Bimlendra Mohan Pratap Mishra last year.
