Who is Champat Rai, the former secretary of the Ram Temple trust, whose driver is one of the suspects in the fund embezzlement case? | Today’s news
The Ayodhya police on Tuesday recorded the statement of former Ram Temple Trust Secretary Champat Rai on Tuesday, June 30, in connection with the alleged embezzlement of the temple. According to a PTI report, the role of private security personnel hired by the temple trust has also come under the scanner.
In an interview with Hindustan Times, Alok Kumar, international president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), admitted that Rai “may be guilty of negligence” in the case. However, he also said: “You want me to release him (Raie) today without the outcome of the investigation, but no one has charged Raie yet. The charges are on his driver.”
A political firestorm also erupted in the state after a Congress delegation led by party state president Ajay Rai was prevented from visiting the temple by Uttar Pradesh authorities. The Congress alleged that their members were put under “house arrest” by the Yogi Adiyanath government.
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A police official who spoke to PTI on the matter said that Rai’s statement was recorded as part of the investigation into the alleged embezzlement of donations.
Ayodhya Circle Officer Ashutosh Tiwari, the head of the investigation, visited Rai’s resident at Bharat Kuti in Karsevakpuram to seek details and documents related to the alleged crime, PTI reported citing sources familiar with the matter.
Who is Champat Rai?
Champat Rai is the International Vice President of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and has been one of the leading organizational figures of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement for decades. After the 2019 Supreme Court verdict in the Ayodhya dispute, he was appointed as the General Secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
Born on 18 November 1946 in Bijor district of Uttar Pradesh, Rai began his association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) from an early age. He eventually became the pracharak (kampani) of the outfit.
Rai taught chemistry at RSM Degree College in Bijnor’s Dhamipur. During the Emergency, he was arrested from his college premises for being a member of the RSS, which was then banned by the Indira Gandhi government. After spending 18 months behind bars, he dedicated himself full-time to the organization and quit his job as a lecturer.
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Rai joined the VHP in 1980 and, after serving in a number of leadership positions, moved to Ayodhya in 1991, where he became the joint organizing secretary of the VHP for Uttar Pradesh.
During the demolition of the Babri Masjid on 6 December 1992, Rai was present on the occasion as one of the kar sevaks. He found himself named in the CBI charge-sheet but was acquitted by a special CBI court in 2020 along with all other co-accused in the case.
On 19 February 2020, Rai was appointed as the first General Secretary of the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. Akhilesh Yadav had last month alleged that financial irregularities could be found in the donations collected for the construction of the temple, and the issue came to light when cash was discovered at the residence of one of the employees of the trust managing the donations.
Following this, the UP government has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the matter. Once Raihankar Yadav (aka Tinnu Yadav), who was Rai’s driver, was named as one of the suspects in the case, Rai resigned from his position in the trust.
