LUCKNOW: Contemplating a major governance overhaul, especially after the alleged theft of donations from the Ayodhya Ram temple, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust is set to appoint a chief executive officer (CEO) to spruce up administrative oversight.
Temple trust treasurer Govind Dev Giri Maharaj said it was imperative to appoint a professional to oversee temple’s affairs admitting that the absence of professional supervision contributed to the lapses. Giri said the temple trust had set up a three-member committee to identify three suitable candidates for the post of CEO following which one would be appointed to manage temple’s administration.
“All of this happened due to absence of a CEO, because the task of oversight requires the discipline that professional bureaucratic people bring. We didn’t bring that kind of professional oversight, and this was the result. So, we will bring one in; we have formed a committee to select and recommend three names, and we will choose one from among them,” he said.
As the SIT intensified its probe to prepare the final report on the alleged theft of donations, a court in Ayodhya has granted a one-day police remand for three of the eight accused arrested in connection with the case.
The court authorised the remand for Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, and Karunesh Pandey for their interrogation in connection with the donation theft case. According to the prosecution, custodial interrogation of the three individuals was necessary to confront them with new evidence gathered from the questioning of the five other accused who were in jail on July 5.
Meanwhile, in his first response to the donation, former general secretary of temple trust Champat Rai on Tuesday said he would answer all the allegations only after the submission of SIT’s final report. He had resigned from the trust after the row erupted and his former driver Shankar alias Tinnu was arrested. Resignations of Rai and senior trustee Anil Mishra were accepted.
Addressing the letter to the devotees of Lord Ram, Rai said various notions had been floating regarding the alleged theft and discussions had been taking place since June 7 but he had chosen to remain silent while the probe was underway.
“Since June 7, several discussions have been taking place regarding the alleged theft during the counting of donation money from the donation boxes at Shree Ram Janmabhoomi temple complex. Many baseless allegations were levelled against me but I have maintained a silence... I assure you that after SIT’s final report, I will address all the points raised so far and the truth will come out,” Champat Rai said in the letter.
My life an open book: Rai
Referring to the trust’s July 6 meeting in Ayodhya, Rai said the SIT preliminary report, marked confidential, was made public. Defending his public life, Rai said he had been working in Ayodhya since October 1991, and that he had served as a Pracharak for 45 years. “My life, all through, has been an open book,” he wrote.
