Ram Temple donation row: Champat Rai, Anil Mishra resign

Champat Rai, General Secretary of Shri Ram Janambhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, and Anil Mishra, Trust member, have tendered their resignation on Saturday (June 27, 2026) after allegations were raised aginst them in the Ram Temple donation embezzlement case. Vijay Shankar Tiwari, national spokesperson of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) has confirmed the resignations.

Allegations of corruption was raised against Mr. Rai with regard to donations received by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra (SRJTK) Trust.

In an statement Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust treasurer, Govind Giri said, “General secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust in Ayodhya, Champat Rai has tendered his resignation along with trust member Anil Mishra. In its next meeting the trust will take a decision on the resignation”.

The letter, making the rounds on social media about the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust’s clarification on Mr. Rai’s resignation, has no masthead or signature.

In the letter, the Trust also sought to reassure devotees who had personally handed over silver bricks, jewellery and other valuables as offerings for Lord Ram, stating that all such items remain safe and properly accounted for.

In its first public statement amid the controversy, the Trust added that it is committed to ensuring a fair investigation and restoring the confidence of devotees. “We are deeply pained, shocked and extremely saddened by the incidents that have come to light in recent days at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. As agents of all Ram devotees and Ram sevaks serving the lord, we are committed to ensuring a fair investigation and restoring the confidence of devotees,” the statement further reads.

Referring to allegations concerning cash received through donation boxes at the temple, the Trust said it has lodged an FIR based on an interim report submitted by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Government of Uttar Pradesh.

Amid uproar and public scrutiny since June 7, 2026, after the Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav claimed reports have emerged that crores of rupees from donations offered at the Ram Temple are missing, the matter escalated with the Uttar Pradesh government on June 13, constituting a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged misappropriation of donation funds.

The investigation has brought unprecedented scrutiny to the project Mr. Rai has overseen since its conception and has transformed Mr. Rai’s own public role from a low-profile organiser to one of the most recognisable faces of the Ram temple project now being brought to account.

The eight people named as the accused in a First Information Report (FIR) regarding the alleged embezzlement of donations received at the Ram temple in Ayodhya have been arrested and sent to judicial custody until June 29.