Ram Temple donation row: Champat Rai breaks silence, questions role of Anil Mishra

Days after resigning as the General Secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust, Champat Rai has broken his silence, responding to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged cash counting irregularities at the Ram Temple Trust. In his written response to the SIT, the former general secretary has distanced himself from a key document governing the counting process and levelled serious allegations against Trust Treasurer Dr Anil Mishra and the bank involved in the exercise.

In his statement dated July 6, 2026, Rai said he did not agree with the "Joint Guidelines for the Counting Process" dated February 6, 2025, claiming the document did not bear his signature despite allegedly carrying the signatures of Dr Anil Mishra and the then State Bank of India Ayodhya branch chief manager, Govind Mishra.

Rai said he became aware of the document only on June 13, 2026, after obtaining all counting-related records from the Trust's accounts office. He maintained that every agreement executed between August 2020 and June 2026 carried his signature, but this particular document did not. "Had I not been present in Ayodhya, the document should have waited for my approval," he said, alleging that the agreement with the bank was executed without his knowledge.

The former Trust general secretary also referred to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the bank on February 9, 2024, saying every page of that agreement bore his signature. According to Rai, the MoU mandated strict security measures, including CCTV surveillance in the counting room and iron-grilled doors, but these safeguards were allegedly not implemented.

He further alleged that the bank failed to follow standard cash-handling protocols. According to Rai, counting staff were not provided pocketless uniforms, mandatory frisking procedures were not enforced, and other prescribed security norms were ignored despite being mentioned in the guidelines.

Rai also questioned the bank's decision to deploy housekeeping staff for the cash-counting exercise, calling the arrangement inappropriate. He suggested that either senior bank officials were unaware of the prescribed procedures or the rules were deliberately overlooked.

His response to the SIT is the first detailed statement from Rai since stepping down as the Trust's general secretary and comes as the investigation into the alleged irregularities in the Ram Temple Trust's cash-counting process gathers pace.

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