‘Baseless allegations’: Ram Temple ex-chief’s first reaction after Trust exit

2 min readUpdated: Jul 7, 2026 06:59 PM IST

Trustee Anil Mishra (left) and general secretary Champat Rai (right) are under pressure amid the controversy. (Express photo)

In the first reaction since his official exit from the Ram Temple Trust, former general secretary Champat Rai on Tuesday promised to give a “point-by-point response” to all the “baseless personal allegations” in the donation ‘theft’ case. Rai’s resignation was accepted even as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the allegations of donation theft at the Ram temple in Ayodhya submits its final report.

Rai, the former general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra, wrote two letters, one to the public and one to the SIT.

In the letter accessed by The Indian Express, he wrote: “Since this past June 7, 2026, various kinds of rumours and discussions have been circulating regarding a theft committed during the counting of the donation boxes at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir complex. Many people have levelled baseless personal allegations against me. I have chosen to maintain silence.

In the meeting of the Temple Trust held on July 6, the preliminary report of the SIT (Special Investigation Team) was presented; this report has now become public. Although it was ‘highly confidential’, I assure all of you that after the final report of the SIT is released, I will give my response point by point to all the rumors being spread. The entire truth will come to light”.

Rai and trustee Anil Mishra had tendered their resignations after an FIR was lodged on June 25 and eight arrests were made in connection with the case.

Trust treasurer Govind Giri said Rai, who had been serving as general secretary since the Trust’s inception in 2020, voluntarily submitted his resignation, saying he felt it would not be appropriate to continue in office until justice was done.

According to Giri, founder trustee K Parasaran, 99, who attended the meeting virtually, informed Trust members that under the Trust’s constitution, a resignation takes effect immediately upon being tendered. “… We had no choice but to accept it,” he said.