Ram Mandir Donation Theft Row | Faizabad Bar Files Police Complaint Seeking FIR Against Champat Rai, Temple Trustees

The complaint explicitly names Trust's General Secretary, Champat Rai; Trust Member, Anil Mishra; and Gopal Rao, accusing them of orchestrating a large-scale theft of cash and precious jewellery donated by devotees.

Advocate Shailendra Kumar Jaiswal filed the complaint with the SHO of the Ram Janmabhoomi Police Station.

This development comes days after the Association passed a resolution stating that none of its members would represent the 8 accused arrested in connection with the alleged misappropriation of donations for the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

The complaint highlights that the Association has had deep historical ties to the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and that several senior advocates played a decisive role in pleading the Janmabhoomi case. It also states that thousands of its members participated in Kar Seva, faced arrest and donated large sums of money for the temple's construction.

It further states that recent media reports on the ongoing theft of large sums of devotees' money have “deeply hurt the sentiments” of the Bar fraternity. Jaiswal stated that the Association and every member feel victimized and cheated.

The Bar Association alleges that top Trust officials are directly complicit. The complaint names:

• Champat Rai: General Secretary of the Trust.
• Anil Mishra: Trust member and head of the donation and fund counting process.
• Gopal Rao (alias Gopal Ji): An individual who allegedly acts prominently in all trust matters without holding any authorized official post.

The complaint claims that the involvement of these persons in the theft of donation funds is clearly evident.

"…the involvement (of these persons) is clearly reflected in the theft of donation and donation money and it is through them that large scale theft of donation money and precious jewellery has been continuously carried out by engaging their close people in counting the donations", the complaint states.

The complaint also alleges shocking instances of cash hidden in recoveries that were never publicly disclosed. It claims thus:

• General Secretary Champat Rai personally went and recovered Rs 10 Lakh hidden in cow dung by an alleged individual.
• Trust member Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao recovered Rs 58 Lakh in stolen money from an individual on June 5, 2026.
• Gopal Rao, through a close associate, used to transfer a sack full of stolen money every week to an unknown location.

Despite these developments, the complaint alleges that Rai himself conveyed to the media that no theft or irregularities of any kind were found in the Trust's donation box during the audit.

"Champat Rai's above statement and the attempt to hide the theft case makes it clear that Champat Rai, Anil Mishra and Gopal ji are completely involved in the theft or embezzlement of devotees' donations, but they are trying to suppress the matter with false and misleading statements", the complaint avers.

The complaint alleges that Champat Rai, Anil Mishra, and Gopal Ji used their influence to secure the constitution of a "sham" (chhadm) SIT.

The Bar Association points out that the FIR lodged pursuant to the SIT's recommendation named only the individuals who were used as intermediaries in the theft, while the culprits were spared.

The Complaint concludes that the trust officials formed an organized gang in a well-planned conspiracy to steal donation funds and destroyed evidence when the matter was exposed.

To maintain the faith and trust of billions of devotees in Lord Ram and the grand temple, the complaint seeks immediate registration of an FIR against key officials and strict punitive action against them.