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A crucial meeting of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust commenced in Ayodhya on Monday to deliberate on the fallout of alleged financial irregularities and the embezzlement of temple offerings. President of the Trust, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, arrived at the Ram Janmabhoomi complex to preside over the high-level meeting.

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Nritya Gopal Das had earlier today in a letter stated that he is deeply pained by the alleged theft of offerings from the Ram Mandir, but said has full faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. He added that no one should politicise this matter.

Trust Convenes Over Resignations and Misappropriation Allegations

Sanjay Prasad, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) of Uttar Pradesh, attended the meeting of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust via video conferencing. According to sources, the meeting has been specifically convened to discuss the resignation offers made by the Trust's General Secretary, Champat Rai, and member Anil Mishra. The move follows serious allegations regarding the misappropriation of donations and offerings made by devotees to the Ram Temple.

The trust comprises 14 members including President Nritya Gopal Das, Vasudevanand Saraswati, Vishwaprasannatirth, Parmanand Giri, Treasurer Govind Dev Giri, Krishna Mohan, Dinendra Das, Prashant Lokhande, Sanjay Prasad, Shashank Tripathi, Nripendra Mishra and K. Parasaran. Trustees Champat Rai and Anil Mishra have resigned, citing moral responsibility over allegations of misappropriation of temple donations.

Trustees expected to attend today's meeting include Treasurer Govind Dev Giri, Vishwaprasannatirth, Swami Parmanand Giri, Jagadguru Vasudevanand Saraswati, Krishna Mohan, Anil Mishra and General Secretary Champat Rai, sources said. Ex-officio members District Magistrate Shashank Tripathi, Central Government representative Prashant Lokhande and Construction Committee Chairman Nripendra Mishra are also expected to be present. Trust member K Parasaran is expected to attend the meeting through video conferencing, sources said.

Political Controversy and Legal Action

The meeting comes as the controversy has triggered a sharp political confrontation, with Opposition parties demanding a probe while the BJP accuses them of targeting the Hindu faith.

Meanwhile, the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court is also scheduled to hear a public interest litigation (PIL) on Monday seeking a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in donations offered at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. A division bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Manjeev Shukla will hear the PIL, which was filed on June 12.

The petition seeks a CBI investigation into allegations of theft and irregularities involving donations collected through the temple's donation boxes. It also seeks an audit of the temple's donations by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). (ANI)