Ram Temple Donation Theft: Ex-Home Secy Says Rs 5 Cr Ramcharitmanas Missing; Champat Rai Gave No Receipt Despite Requests

Jagran Correspondent, Ayodhya: A fresh controversy has come up over the disappearance of gifts and jewellery offered to Ram Lalla in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya. Former Union Home Secretary S Lakshminarayanan has claimed that the gold-plated copy of Ramcharitmanas, which his family had entrusted to Champat Rai, former General Secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, has also gone missing.

As per S Lakshminarayanan, despite his repeated requests, he was neither given a receipt nor informed of its safekeeping. He even claimed that he was denied a receipt even after requesting it from RSS chief Dr Mohan Bhagwat.

Appearing on a television news channel, S Lakshminarayana stated that he, along with his wife Saraswati, visited Ayodhya and presented the Ramcharitmanas to Champat Rai in April 2024. He was not given a receipt at the time. He was told it would be placed in the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram Temple.

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522 Pages Of Ramcharitmanas Were Gold-Plated, Costed Rs 4.5 To 5 Cr

As per S Lakshminarayanan, since April 2024, he has visited Champat Rai twice and asked for a receipt. According to him, Champat Rai promised to issue a receipt, but nothing has been issued so far. The 522 pages of the Ramcharitmanas, weighing approximately 147 kg, were covered in gold and was worth approximately Rs 4.5 to 5 crore.

He further said that the gifted Ramcharitmana was a reflection of his late mother's devotion. He added that his family has been involved with the Ram Janmabhoomi movement for decades. The first brick sent from Kanyakumari for the movement came from his father-in-law's house.

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Meanwhile, a local court in Ayodhya had sent all eight accused arrested in the Ram Mandir donation theft case to 14-day judicial custody after police did not seek their custody. The eight accused - Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lav Kush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ram Shankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ramashankar alias Tinnu Yadav -- were associated with counting cash and valuables received as donations at the Ram Temple.