Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust chairman Nritya Gopal Das has convened a meeting of all members at his math in Ayodhya on Monday in the wake of the Ram temple donation theft controversy.
The 13 trust members nominated by the Narendra Modi government had elected Nritya Gopal as the chairman and Champat Rai as the general secretary.
Rai and trust member Anil Mishra had resigned a fortnight ago over the donation-theft case. Six people deployed in the temple’s vault room have been arrested so far for stealing ₹6 lakh to ₹8 lakh every day.
Sources claimed Das was more interested in initiating a discussion about his successor at the meeting, against a widely held belief that the trust members would talk about the theft and replacements for Rai and Mishra.
“Nritya Gopal is 88. He was admitted to a hospital with several complications and returned to the ashram (Maniram Das Chavani) on Friday. The meeting was initially scheduled at Kar Sevak Puram (VHP office) in Ayodhya on July 11, but Nritya Gopal called it on July 6 at his ashram because he didn’t want to wait long. A letter to the trust members about the meeting was issued by Nritya Gopal’s successor, Kamal Nayan Das. Nritya Gopal is keen to make his disciple the head of trust,” said a veteran journalist of Ayodhya.
Kamal Nayan has not made any comment on the issue.
Ayodhya Sant Mandal, a group of sadhus, has asked Nritya Gopal not to accept Rai’s resignation.
“The role of trust treasurer Govind Dev Giri should be probed instead of making Rai a scapegoat. We have known Rai since the 1980s and cannot accept the allegation against him. The senior members of the trust must reject his resignation and honestly probe the case,” said Mahant Shashikant Das, a sadhu who organises the daily Saryu aarti there.
Police sources said the SIT probing the case had found that those tasked with counting the daily offerings at the temple used to steal anything between ₹6 lakh and ₹8 lakh per day. They used to take the money to a house near the Saryu and divide it among themselves.
