Champat Rai, the former General Secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, broke his silence for the first time on Tuesday regarding the alleged theft of offerings from the Ram Mandir’s donation box, a day after his resignation was accepted during a Trust meeting.
Champat Rai issued a letter to Ram devotees to present his side of the matter.
In the letter, he said various speculations had been circulating following the alleged theft that occurred during the counting of donations from the Ram Mandir complex’s donation box on June 7 and that numerous baseless allegations had been levelled against him personally. He said this was why he had maintained silence until now.
He noted that the preliminary report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) was presented during the Trust meeting on July 6 and has since been made public, even though it was originally classified as “strictly confidential.”
Assuring the devotees, he said that once the final SIT report is released, he will provide a point-by-point response to every allegation and issue raised against him. He asserted that the full truth would emerge after the final report is made public.
In the letter, Champat Rai also reflected on his public life.
Rai wrote that he was sent to Ayodhya by the organisation in October 1991 and has spent 45 years as a pracharak (full-time organisational worker). He said that wherever he has worked, his life has been like an open book. He concluded the letter by respectfully offering his salutations to everyone.