Now, Ayodhya temple head accuses Champat Rai of 'illegal' takeover

The head of a temple adjoining the Ram Mandir complex in Ayodhya on Thursday accused Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general-secretary Champat Rai of illegally taking control of the shrine through forged documents, alleging that repeated complaints to the authorities had gone unheeded.

The allegations were made by Hari Shankar Safariwala, who identified himself as the panch pramukh of the centuries-old Ram Niwas temple in Ramkot, during a press conference addressed by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow.

Safariwala appeared alongside the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and former Ayodhya MLA Tej Narain 'Pawan' Pandey to publicise his claims. Addressing reporters, Safariwala said the Ram Niwas temple is situated adjacent to the Ram Janmabhoomi complex and is administered by a panch committee, which appoints a priest to manage the shrine.

Alleging an organised attempt to seize control of the temple, Safariwala claimed that "Champat Rai and his gang" fabricated documents under the guise of a property transaction, despite temples not being saleable properties. "They prepared fake papers showing a deal worth Rs 5.80 crore and paid around Rs 60 lakh through banking channels to our appointed priest and his relatives," he alleged.

Safariwala further claimed that representatives of the alleged occupiers had attempted to persuade members of the temple committee to part with the property by offering crores of rupees. "We told them that none of us is the owner. It is a panchayati temple, and the committee alone has authority over it. We cannot sell it," he said.

According to Safariwala, the temple and its adjoining land — valued by him at around Rs 50 crore — have remained under the control of the alleged occupiers for the past five years.

He also alleged that devotees had donated lakhs of rupees to the temple during this period, but the committee's repeated requests for an account of the offerings had gone unanswered. "We are distressed. We have approached officials repeatedly, but no one is willing to hear our complaint, which we have sent to the prime minister, chief minister, and local officials," he alleged.

Following Safariwala's allegations, Yadav called for a fair and impartial investigation into the matter.

There was no immediate response from Champat Rai or the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust to the allegations.

The latest accusations come amid mounting scrutiny of the trust over the handling of temple donations. A Special Investigation Team constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government is already probing allegations of embezzlement linked to the Ram temple project, and multiple FIRs have been registered in connection with the case, leading to eight arrests as of now.

With PTI inputs