Intensifying trouble for the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, the head of a centuries-old temple situated adjacent to the Ram Mandir complex, on Thursday accused the former general secretary of the trust, Champat Rai and "his gang" of illegally grabbing control of the shrine through forged documents.
Addressing a press conference alongside Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow, Hari Shankar Safariwala, the panch pramukh of the centuries-old Ram Niwas temple in Ramkot, alleged that his complaints against Rai and his associates were ignored by the authorities.
Former chief minister and Ayodhya ex-MLA Tej Narain Pandey also attended the press conference.
The Ram Niwas temple is located directly next to the Ram Janmabhoomi complex and is managed by a panch committee, which has appointed a priest to oversee its operations, Safariwala told reporters.
Alleging a conspiracy to take over the temple, Safariwala claimed that "Champat Rai and his gang" prepared forged documents under the guise of a property agreement 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 attempts were made to persuade 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.
He alleged that the temple and the surrounding land, valued at around Rs 50 crore according to him, have remained under the control of the alleged occupiers for the past five years.
Claiming that devotees had offered donations running into lakhs of rupees during this period, Safariwala said the committee had sought accounts of the offerings but had received no response.
"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 urged the authorities to conduct a fair and impartial investigation.
There was no immediate response from Champat Rai or the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust to the allegations.
The allegations came days after Champat Rai resigned as the general secretary of the trust amid allegations of his involvement in the embezzlement of donation funds recived at the Ram Temple.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government to probe the allegations has so far arrested eight people, including Rai's driver.
(With inputs from PTI)