Champat Rai resigned as the trust’s general secretary amid allegations of large-scale embezzlement of devotees’ donations
NEW DELHI: As allegations of embezzlement linked to donations for the Ram Temple continue to generate political and legal controversy, the brother of former Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai has come out in his defence, describing the accusations as “politically motivated” and insisting Rai had devoted his life to the Ram temple movement and national service.Speaking to news agency PTI, Sunil Bansal, who lives in Nagina in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor district, said his brother had sacrificed both his career and personal life for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Ram temple movement and the country.His remarks came after Champat Rai resigned as the trust’s general secretary amid allegations of large-scale embezzlement of devotees’ donations, with questions being raised over his alleged role in the matter.Bansal said Rai began his professional career as a teacher in Rohtak during 1970-71 before joining RSM Degree College in Dhampur as a physics lecturer in 1972.According to Bansal, Rai came under police scrutiny during the Emergency, when officers attempted to arrest him while he was teaching. He later surrendered before the local police, Bansal said.He added that Rai resigned from his teaching post in 1980-81 to dedicate himself full-time to the RSS. Rejecting the allegations, Bansal said his brother had given up “everything” for the RSS, the Ram temple movement and the service of the nation.Meanwhile, pressure on the temple’s management continued to mount.Earlier in the day, the Faizabad Bar Association demanded that Champat Rai, Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao, all associated with the temple’s management but not named as accused in the FIR, “must leave” Ayodhya.The lawyers warned that if the three did not leave “within three days”, they would blockade the entire city and prevent anyone from entering Ayodhya.The Bar Association also said it would move the court under Section 156(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, seeking directions for the registration of an FIR against Champat Rai, Gopal Rao and Anil Mishra. The provision empowers a magistrate to order a police investigation into a cognisable offence if no action has been taken on a complaint.
