Champat Rai breaks silence on Ram Mandir donation theft: 'Will respond to all allegations after SIT report'

Champat Rai, the former general secretary of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, broke his silence on Tuesday by writing a chaupai on Shri Ramcharitmanas. He wrote on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) – 'Dhiraj Dharma Mitra Aru Naari, Aap Kaal Parikhiyahi Chari'. That is, patience, religion, friend and wife are the real test of all four in times of crisis. Champat Rai also released a handwritten letter in the name of Ram devotees. "Baseless allegations have been levelled against me regarding the theft of donations at the Ram temple during the counting of donations, I have maintained silence," it read. The preliminary report of the SIT was presented at the trust meeting on Monday, which has now been made public. The report was highly confidential. I assure you that after the final report of the SIT comes, I will give a befitting reply to all the allegations and propaganda levelled against me. "I was sent to Ayodhya by the organisation in October 1991. My nearly 45 years of public life is like an open book," Rai said, adding that he had resigned from the post of general secretary on June 26 and was accepted at a meeting of the trust on July 6. Champat Rai is currently in Ayodhya. Swami Govind Dev Giri Maharaj, treasurer of the Ram Mandir Trust, on Tuesday said that Champat Rai is innocent. "When I say that he (Champat Rai) is innocent, I mean he cannot have any character connection with this whole scandal. But they themselves were not careful." "He hired a criminal as his driver. He had the keys. He controlled everything. His driver did it all. I suspect that the driver was involved with outsiders. All this happened because there was no CEO. So we will bring in a CEO.' On the other hand, Krishna Mohan Das, the new general secretary of the trust, took charge today. Meanwhile, the Faizabad Anti-Corruption Court has remanded three accused — Karunesh Pandey, Anukp Mishra and Luv Kush — to a one-day remand. The police sought a 7-day remand. The police will now bring the trio from jail on Wednesday morning for questioning. Champat Rai, who resigned from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, will continue as the international vice-president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). VHP president Alok Kumar confirmed the same with Divya Bhaskar. Here, Champat Rai is in solitary confinement at the Teerth Kshetra Puram in Ramkot near the Ram temple. They are living under extremely tight security. People associated with the VHP and other affiliated organisations are also having to take permission to meet Champat Rai. On the other hand, former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said in a press conference, "The BJP-RSS has hurt the sentiments of crores of people. It is being said that they were aware of the theft long ago but no action was taken against it. Things were suppressed." VHP spokesperson Vinod Bansal said, 'SIT should file a case against SP, AAP and Congress for spreading lies' Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) national spokesperson Vinod Bansal has asked the SP, AAP and Congress to apologise. In a X (Twitter) post on Tuesday, he said, "Now SP, AAP and Congress should apologise to Ram Bhakts, Trusts and devotees. He carried out a well-planned political and false propaganda of theft of donated precious items by Ram Bhakts, when all such items are safe and displayed publicly by the trust. This is a strong slap on the face of those traitors. The SIT should also take cognizance of the matter and initiate proceedings under Section 353 of the BNS." Champat Rai's reply letter to SIT goes viral, serious allegations against Anil Mishra The answers given by Champat Rai to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the theft of the Ram temple have come to light. The letter is said to bear the signature of Champat Rai. However, this has not been officially confirmed. In his reply, Champat Rai has made serious allegations against Anil Mishra, who was a member of the trust. At the same time, many questions have also been raised on the MOU (agreement), guidelines and security arrangements with the bank. BJP MP from Chhatarpur VD Sharma says Akhilesh Yadav is a traitor to Ram, says BJP MP from Chhatarpur VD Sharma on the issue of irregularities in the construction of Ram temple, "If there is any flaw in any system, the trust has taken it seriously. Prime Minister Modi will never allow any such thing to happen in the country. The trust has played its part. The SIT has been constituted and the SIT is working. If anyone has committed any crime, then action is being taken against those who will be found guilty after the SIT investigation," he said. Jagadguru Swami Omkarananda of Jyotirmath, Badrinath, said, "Through this letter, he has conveyed the pain of his mind to the people and he wants people to know about his sacrifice, dedication and lifelong commitment to Shri Ram Janmabhoomi movement." "Nothing came out of this meeting. Mere resignation doesn't do anything. No action is being taken... Why do you want to arrange your men in the temple? The entire construction of this temple has been done with public money. The temple has been built with the orders of the Supreme Court and public money. No money has been invested by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the government or the Sangh. Then why do you want your own men in the trust? What is your selfishness in this? The trust should be run by the saints of Ayodhya or the saints of Shankaracharya or Ramanujacharya. Why don't you bring them?... Such a big theft has taken place. Catching small and big people will not do anything. In this, big people should be traced and action should be taken against them," he said.