Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir trust under opposition’s fire over alleged land scam

Shriram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai has been accused of buying a piece of land worth Rs 2 crore at an inflated price of Rs 18.5 crore for the Ram temple premises with help from Trust’s member Anil Mishra. The accusation has been made by two opposition leaders — AAP’s Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh and a former minister in the Samajwadi government, Pawan Pandey, PTI reported. 

Rai has been accused of purchasing the land, measuring 1.208 hectares, located in Bag Bjaisi village under Sadar tehsil of Ayodhya district, for a price of Rs 18.50 crore from the first purchaser, who had bought it minutes earlier on March 18 this year from its original owners for a sum of Rs two crores.

Singh and Pandey termed it a case of money laundering and sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate into the land purchase for the temple premises.

“Champat Rai, the general secretary of Shriram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust with the help of Trust’s member Anil Mishra bought the land worth Rs 2 crore at Rs 18.5 crore. This is a case of money laundering and the government should get it probed by the ED and CBI,” Singh said, PTI reported. 

Singh explained that the land was first purchased by Sultan Ansari on March 18  from its original owner Kusum Pathak, wife of Harish Kumar Pathak alias Baba Hardas for a sum of Rs 2 crore. Minutes later, the same land was purchased by Rai for a sum of Rs 18.50 crore from Ansari, Singh said, quoting entries of the second sale deed showing the transaction between Ansari and Rai.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government must initiate a thorough probe by the CBI and ED, and the corrupt persons should be sent to jail, as it is the question of faith of crore devotees of Lord Ram, who have given their hard-earned money for the construction of the Ram temple,” Singh said.

The same allegation was reiterated by SP’s former Ayodhya MLA Pandey.