The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust besides announcing its first chief executive officer (CEO) also appointed new general secretary and three trustees on Wednesday, nearly three months after allegations of donation theft at the Ayodhya temple led to multiple probes, arrests and the resignation of Champat Rai as the trust’s general secretary.
Among the key trust posts, former treasurer Govind Dev Giri has been given the new role of general secretary. The trust also appointed Delhi-based businessman Mahesh Bhagchandka. Yadav is the first woman inducted into the trust. Meanwhile, Bhagchandka, a close associate to one of the stalwarts of Ram Janmabhoomi movement Ashok Singhal, will also take over the charge from Giri as the new treasurer. With the development, curtains fell on talk of Champat Rai’s return. The decisions came during a crucial meeting of the trust’s board in Ayodhya. Mishra’s appointment as CEO for three years marks a shift from trustee-led management to professional corporate oversight for daily security, logistics, crowd and multi-crore funds.
Former additional advocate general Madan Mohan Pandey, a native of Ayodhya who fought the Ram Janmabhoomi case since 1993, and Nirmala Yadav, a long-time Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( RSS ) worker and former principal of PG College, Shikohabad, as the three new trustees appointed to fill vacancies in the trust. Rai had resigned on June 26 after the donation theft row.
“Out of three names shortlisted by the search committee, the trust selected former Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra for the CEO’s post,” said Krishna Mohan after the meeting. “Govind Dev Giri has accepted to be full-time general secretary,” he added. However, no decision could be taken on the appointment of spokesperson for the Trust, said Mohan.
However, no decision could be taken on the position of spokesperson for the trust, added Mohan. The temple trust has been grappling the allegations of donation theft since it first surfaced on June 7, when Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Tej Narayan ‘Pawan’ Pandey alleged that donations worth ₹ 5 crore to ₹ 7.5 crore were siphoned off from temple offerings. On June 13, the state government set up the first SIT and a probe began. The SIT was in Ayodhya from June 15 to 20 and submitted its preliminary report to the state home department on June 23. On June 25, a first information report (FIR) was registered against eight named accused and other unidentified people in the case, who were arrested on June 26.
Earlier reporting noted: “Out of three names shortlisted by the search committee, the trust selected former Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra for the CEO’s post,” said former interim general secretary Krishna Mohan after the meeting. BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP and former deputy Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma said, “Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust is an independent body and its decisions uphold religious sentiments without outside interference. “New committees are being formed and a new CEO is being appointed, but what has the government done against those who committed the earlier wrongdoing?” he said.
Earlier reporting noted: The BJP welcomed the appointment of retired Air Marshal Mishra as the CEO, stressing the Trust operates independently. Earlier reporting noted: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav asked why employees arrested in the alleged temple donation theft case were still in jail while senior officials had been given a clean chit. Rajya Sabha MP Ramjilal Suman (SP) also questioned the government’s action against those allegedly involved in the earlier irregularities.
