Prayagraj: It has been three days since Santosh Dubey, a former kar sevak who joined the Ram Janmbhoomi movement in the late 1980s, submitted a complaint at the Ram Janmbhoomi police station in Ayodhya in connection with the alleged embezzlement of funds in the temple.

Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has been at the centre of a controversy for over two weeks now owing to allegations related to the embezzlement of funds and theft of valuable offerings from within the temple premises: 

Three complaints have been filed between June 16-June 18 at Ram Janmbhoomi police station of Ayodhya alleging misappropriation of funds.

While one complaint by a former kar sevak has named officials of the Trust including secretary Champat Rai, the other two complaints question Rai’s role who reportedly spent Trust funds in inflated land deals.

A former accountant has told few media outlets that CCTV footage of eight months’ duration had been deleted during his stint.

An investigation by Dainik Bhaskar has revealed that no receipts were issued for a 3-kg silver garland and 1-Kg silver charan paduka (slippers) gifted by a Mumbai-based businessman which is now being looked into by the Special Investigation Team.

Kar Sevaks (people who volunteer for a religious cause) were volunteers associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), who, after being mobilised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), had congregated at the Babri mosque on December 6, 1992, and subsequently demolished it.

Nearly 34 years after the demolition of the mosque, and two years after prime minister Narendra Modi presided over the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in January 2024, former kar sevak Dubey says that he is worried if Lord Ram is ‘safe’ in this country.

He doesn’t mince words when talking about those involved in the alleged fund embezzlement in the Ram temple, even comparing them with Babur and Mahmud of Ghazni – historical figures who are routinely portrayed as invaders by the Sangh Parivar and BJP.

“Babur, Ghazni and Ghori looted temples and went away. These people [referring to those allegedly involved in fund embezzlement in the temple] are looting the treasures of the temple. They are looting the people of their faith and trust. Is [Lord] Ram also not safe in this country?”, said Dubey.

Dubey was responding to a question about how he feels regarding the recent allegations of misappropriation of funds belonging to the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, given that he had been, in his own words, among those who paved the way for the temple after “demolishing the Babri Mosque in a planned manner using sabbal (crowbar), hammer, trishul and sword.” 

What comes as a surprise is the fact that the people whom Dubey – a lifelong follower of the Hindutva ideology – has accused in his complaint of misappropriating funds from the temple, include Champat Rai, a top functionary of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a right-wing Hindu organisation, which is an offshoot of the RSS. 

Dubey’s proximity to the Sangh Parivar and the Ram Janmbhoomi movement could be gauged from the fact that he was a co-accused along with former deputy prime minister and veteran BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani and 30 others in the Babri Demolition case probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). All accused in the case were acquitted 2020 owing to lack of sufficient evidence. 

“Yes, I have been accused, what’s wrong with that? There was just one way for the mukti (release) of Ram Janmbhoomi that the Babri structure should be pulled down, so we did just that. Kya gunah kiya (what is the crime committed here?)”, proclaims Dubey, the complainant in the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust funds case. 

While Dubey has no remorse over the demolition of the mosque, he says he is pained that the Ram Temple is “in the hands of thieves.”

“I am feeling very guilty, this is no small remorse; there is an inner conflict going on whether Ayodhya will always remain in the hands of thieves”, said Dubey, while speaking to The Wire. 

Dubey sounded angry and disgruntled at, what he alleges, years of mismanagement of cash and other valuables donated to the Ram temple in Ayodhya, beginning sometime in 2003-04.

On June 17, when this reporter called Dubey, he was preparing to leave for the banks of Sarayu, as a symbolic gesture of submitting his complaint to the river, which is revered as a goddess. 

Three police complaints, no FIR

Dubey is among those complainants who have formally approached the UP Police. The day Dubey submitted his complaint, (on June 16), Ayodhya-based Indian Youth Congress leader, Sharad Shukla, too, wrote a complaint to the Ram Janmbhoomi police station requesting that an FIR be registered in connection with the misappropriation of temple funds. 

By June 18, the total number of complainants who had submitted letters at the Ram Janmbhoomi police station had risen to three, including Dubey and Shukla. A third complaint was sent the same day on behalf of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP, Sanjay Singh. 

However, no First Information Report (FIR) has been registered yet by the police of the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh. Meanwhile, a Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted by the office of chief minister Yogi Adityanath, on June 13 carries on with its probe. 

The New Indian Express has reported citing sources that SIT has identified around 150 suspects, with nearly 25 individuals likely to face action. 

The Wire spoke with two complainants – Dubey and Shukla – to understand the nature of their allegations against the Trust, which was formed after the Union cabinet led by prime minister Narendra Modi gave its approval in February 2020. The announcement came following a Supreme Court judgment in 2019 when the apex court had said that the rightful claimant of the disputed 2.77 acres land in Ayodhya was Deity Ram Lalla, thereby accepting the claim of the Hindu parties. 

The Wire also went through documents related to the land deals involving Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai – who is also the international vice president of the VHP – which are now under the scanner owing to allegations of inflated valuations of properties purchased on behalf of the Trust. 

‘Entire Hindu society hurt by such a misdeed’

In a one-page complaint, Dubey, who runs an outfit called Dharam Sena Bharat, has named four persons associated with the Trust who were allegedly responsible for siphoning off temple funds. 

The complaint, a copy of which has been seen by The Wire, states: “More than Rs 1 crore in donations comprising cash, coins made of gold and silver, and ornaments are received from Ram Bhakts in donation boxes on a daily basis which is managed and taken care of by the members of the Ram Janmbhoomi Trust. Primarily the Secretary of the Trust, Champat Rai Bansal, Anil Mishra, Gopal Rao and Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu who happens to be the driver of Champat Rai have colluded with the appointed workers and siphoned off a substantial amount of such donations, amounting to more than Rs 200 crore, as part of a conspiracy.”

“It is important in the interest of religion that in order to recover such donations in the form of cash and jewellery, an FIR be filed against concerned persons and as part of investigation they [accused] should be subjected to a polygraph test. The entire Hindu society including myself have been hurt by such a misdeed”, Dubey’s complaint further added.  

Former kar sevak Santosh Dubey at the Ram Janmbhoomi police station where he filed the complaint against alleged embezzlement of temple........

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