Ram Temple Probe: VIP Pass IDs of Champat Rai, Anil Mishra, Gopal Rao Deactivated Amid Investigation

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has deactivated the digital credentials of former general secretary Champat Rai , trustee Anil Mishra , and special invitee Gopal Rao , which were used to generate VIP darshan passes at the Ram temple in Ayodhya .

The move was taken by the newly appointed temple administration headed by acting general secretary Krishna Mohan as part of measures to prevent alleged misuse of preferential entry facilities during the ongoing investigation into irregularities linked to the temple administration.

According to sources, the deactivation means no ‘Sugam’ or ‘Vishisht Darshan’ passes can now be issued through the digital IDs or recommendations associated with the three senior office-bearers.

The action comes amid a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into alleged financial irregularities involving temple donations and the misuse of VIP darshan facilities. Investigators have reportedly found that digital IDs meant for facilitating darshan for recommended devotees were allegedly misused to generate a large number of unauthorised passes.

Sources claimed that arrested accused Tinnu Yadav exploited the system loophole to create hundreds of VIP passes. Some associates linked to Champat Rai and Anil Mishra are also being examined over allegations of running an illegal VIP pass network.

In a related development, the probe into alleged theft of temple donation money has revealed that some of the misappropriated funds were allegedly invested in the stock market and lent out on interest, according to police sources.

Investigators have frozen 30 bank accounts belonging to relatives and associates of accused Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra and Karunesh Pandey after finding transactions allegedly disproportionate to their known sources of income.

Police searches at the residences of the accused reportedly led to the recovery of cash bundles, gold jewellery and a vehicle. Officials also examined documents related to land purchased in Anukalp Mishra’s name.

The controversy began in June after alleged irregularities surfaced during the counting of donations at the Ayodhya temple. Following a recommendation from the trust, the Uttar Pradesh government formed an SIT, which later found prima facie evidence of alleged embezzlement.

An FIR was registered in the case, and eight people connected with the donation-counting process were arrested. While Champat Rai, Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao have stepped down from their respective responsibilities, none of them has been named as an accused in the FIR.