Ram Mandir Donation Theft Case: Champat Rai, Anil Mishra Get Clean Chit; SIT Finds No Evidence

Ayodhya: Amidst the Ayodhya Ram Temple offering theft controversy, the Trust's former general secretary, Champat Rai, has been given a clean chit. Along with Champat Rai, Trust member Anil Mishra has also been given a clean chit. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case submitted its final report to the government and has been handed over to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for further action. 

What is there in the report?

Both, Champat Rai, who was the General Secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple Trust, and Anil Mishra, an important member of the trust, have not been mentioned in the final report of SIT presented to the government. Very serious accusations were made against both of them in this case, and when the issue reached the next level, they both resigned from their positions. The final report has now been presented by SIT to the government, and it is now being forwarded to Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.

According to sources, the final report contains the names of eight accused, who have already been arrested in this case. Since the donation theft row, questions have been raised about the roles of Champat Rai and Anil Mishra. 

What are the allegations against Champat Rai?

After the case of alleged theft of offerings in Ram temple came to light, questions were raised on former general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra. Many allegations were made against both of them. After the controversy escalated, both of them resigned from their posts. Opposition parties also raised questions on the trust and Champat Rai regarding the matter. 

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav had raised the issue of alleged theft of offerings on June 7. In response to this, Champat Rai had released a video and termed the allegations as false. Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh has also been targeting Champat Rai earlier on land matters related to the temple.

Why was SIT formed?

In the midst of all this chaos, SIT was formed on 13 June at the behest of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as per the demands of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. The three-member committee which included Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, IG Range Kiran S and Special Secretary (Finance) Neel Ratan Kumar was set up.

The SIT, in its preliminary investigation, has confirmed the theft of money from the temple donations. It is also learnt that Rs 80 lakh had been recovered without any police information. With this, the pressure mounted on Champat Rai and Anil Mishra.

How many people are arrested?

Based on the preliminary report of the SIT, a case was registered at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi police station on June 25th on the written complaint of trust member Krishnamohan. Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava, Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu, and other unidentified individuals were named as accused. All of them were arrested and sent to jail. However, the other unidentified accused in the case have not yet been identified.

According to the SIT's preliminary report, CCTV footage from the temple complex captured suspicious activity by employees approximately 70 times between April 27 and June 5, 2026. The allegation was that cash was being smuggled out. The investigation also revealed that standard operating procedures (SOPs) established by the Trust and the SBI were not followed. The system for searching employees upon entry and exit was also not effectively implemented.