LUCKNOW, AUGUST 18: The Special Investigation Team probing alleged donation thefts at the Ayodhya Ram Temple cleared Champat Rai, former general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, of criminal culpability in its first official report. The Uttar Pradesh home department examined the panel’s findings before handing over the document to the temple trust for further action.
Investigating officials affirmed that neither Champat Rai nor former trust member Anil Mishra were named as accused in the final report, following their resignations on June 27 amidst the ongoing inquiry into cash handling irregularities.
Police authorities stated that the primary criminal focus remains on eight individuals arrested in connection with repeated cash thefts inside the temple counting room.
“Eight individuals named in the complaint — Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava, and Ram Shankar Yadav — were subsequently arrested and remain in custody,” law enforcement officials declared, citing findings from an FIR registered on June 25 at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi police station.
The initial SIT, established on June 13 on the orders of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath following a formal request from the trust, conducted preliminary inquiries into donation workflows between June 15 and June 20. The panel, headed by Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant alongside Inspector General of Police Kiran S and Special Secretary (Finance) Neel Ratan Kumar, identified systemic lapses in physical search protocols and security compliance.
A second SIT, operating under Supreme Court supervision, continues to manage the broader ongoing investigation into the financial irregularities.
