Photo : PTI
Champat Rai, the former general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, has questioned the role of the State Bank of India (SBI) and flagged serious procedural and security lapses in the counting process in his statement to the SIT, as seen by Times Now. Champat Rai had tendered his resignation from the post amid the probe into the embezzlement of donations at the Ram Mandir. His resignation was accepted by the Ram Mandir Trust during its meeting on Monday.
Rejecting a February 6, 2025, guideline document, Rai said he neither signed nor was aware of it until June 13, 2026, despite it bearing signatures of other officials. The document prescribed guidelines for the counting of the donation amount.
Rai said he does not agree with its contents and formally disowns it, stressing that he neither signed the document nor was made aware of it at the time.
In his statement, Rai said he came to know about the guidelines only on June 13, 2026, through the accounts office, even though the document claims to have been shared with the Trust. He underlined that between August 2020 and June 2026, all agreements related to such processes bore his signature along with that of the concerned authority, raising the question of why his approval was not taken in this instance. “If I was not in Ayodhya, the matter should have been kept pending,” he noted, indicating a breach of established protocol.
Rai also referred to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with SBI on February 9, 2024, stating that his signatures are present on every page of that agreement.
These included installation of CCTV cameras in the counting room and the use of iron-grilled doors for controlled access. However, he alleged that the execution of these measures was flawed and that the bank’s recommended method of conducting counting—on tables while seated on chairs—may have inadvertently facilitated the alleged theft. Following the incident, he said, the tables were removed and counting was shifted to the floor.
He claimed that essential checks during entry and exit from the counting room were either inadequate or ignored altogether. Despite provisions in the guideline document, there was no enforcement of restrictions such as wearing pocket-less clothing, and the bank itself provided garments with pockets, he noted.
Champat Rai’s First Official Statement
Champat Rai on Tuesday said he would respond to all allegations of donation embezzlement after the SIT submits its final report, even as opposition parties alleged a “cover-up” and stepped up the demand for its dissolution.
