Pune, July 14: Govind Dev Giri Maharaj, treasurer of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, on Tuesday conceded that there were lapses in supervision at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, but said he would not step down over the alleged theft of donations as he did not consider himself to be at fault personally.
Noting that those arrested in the case are all employees of the State Bank of India, he said that the bank officials should have checked their credentials and should have been more vigilant.
Asked about the quantum of the alleged theft, he said his personal estimate was that it could be around Rs 3 crore, but it should not be taken as the official or authentic figure.
Reports claiming that he had decided to quit were “malicious”, Giri Maharaj said.
On the resignation of the trust’s general secretary Champat Rai, Giri Maharaj said he had stepped down voluntarily.
Rejecting the suggestion that Rai was made a scapegoat, Giri Maharaj said negligence on Rai’s part contributed to the situation, and he had realised it before resigning.
Asked whether bank employees should have been more vigilant, Giri Maharaj said, “They are not preachers, they are bank officials. So they should have remained vigilant.”
On demands that he step
down as treasurer, Giri Maharaj said there was “absolutely no need” for him to resign as an act of penance.
The trust would not publish any “white paper” on the issue at present as the SIT was already probing the matter, he said.
‘Ram Temple theft was planned’
Swami Avimukteshwaranand, the Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math, on Tuesday alleged that the government had placed “its chosen people” at the Ram temple trust to facilitate “theft” and the SIT formed for the probe was bound to give them a “clean chit”.
“This is not an accident, but a planned act,” he said.
We believe they were put there to facilitate theft,” he alleged.
Avimukteshwaranand alleged Champat Rai’s resignation from the Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust was only for “show”, claiming that no one had seen the resignation and that he continued to function from the temple premises. (PTI)
