New Delhi: Ayodhya Bar Association has submitted a complaint with the Ayodhya police, demanding action against Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai, trustee Anil Mishra and administrator Gopal Rao in the alleged Ram Temple donation theft case.
Demanding an FIR against Rai, Mishra, Rao and other trustees, the complaint in Hindi says, “…all the responsible trust officers and members are also clearly involved in this theft, who by making a well-planned conspiracy, formed an organised gang to steal the donation money in a planned manner and when the matter came to light, they made the evidence disappear. It is absolutely necessary to register a case against them so that the faith and belief of billions of Ram devotees remains intact towards their Lord Shri Ram and his grand temple.”
The complaint, seen by ThePrint, has been filed by advocate Shailendra Kumar Jaiswal, general secretary of the Bar Association with the Ram Janmabhoomi police station.
It asserts that the Faizabad Bar Association, Ayodhya, has played a significant and active role in the Ram Janmabhoomi Mukti Andolan, and that several senior advocates from the Bar Association represented the cause of the Ram Janmabhoomi Liberation Movement.
“Thousands of its members participated in the Kar Seva movement, for which they were also arrested. Furthermore, the Association and its members have donated substantial funds for the construction of the Ram Janmabhoomi,” it adds, saying that several members of the Bar Association continue to donate a portion of their hard-earned money to the donation boxes dedicated to the deity and the temple.
However, the allegations of theft have left members of the Bar Association feeling “victimised and cheated”, the complaint says.
It points out that Rai’s statements informing the media that no theft or irregularities were discovered in the Trust’s donation box during the audit “clearly indicate” that the trio were “fully involved in the theft or embezzlement of devotees’ donations, but they are attempting to cover up the matter with false and fabricated narratives”.
The complaint claims that it was only in response to public anger that the SIT was constituted. It alleges that one of the trustees, Krishna Mohan was made the complainant, despite the fact that Mohan was in possession of the money and jewellery donated to the Temple.
Earlier, the Bar Association had decided that no lawyer will represent the accused in the Ram Temple donation theft case, and that if an advocate does decide to take up the case, the association plans to impose a 5 lakh fine on them. “The people who they have sent to jail are drivers, or sanitation workers. They are not the culprits. The main accused are Champat Rai, Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao, but the authorities are protecting them,” Ayodhya Bar Association vice president Rajesh Kumar Upadhyay had told ThePrint.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also read: A trust divided? How rivalries within management blew lid off Ram temple donation ‘theft’ scandal
I would think that the rot runs deeper than portrayed.
I am sure the blessings of high ranking BJP members including cabinet members should’ve been there to do this audacious act.
Sadly, the trustees will be the fall guys and the higher ups will be shielded.