Ayodhya seer files police complaint against temple trust members over nazul land deal

AYODHYA: Mahant Dharam Das, a senior seer of Hanuman Garhi temple in Ayodhya, has filed a police complaint against

Ram Mandir Trust

secretary Champat Rai, all trustees, MLA Deep Narayan Upadhyay, Ayodhya mayor’s nephew Rishikesh Upadhyay and sub-registrar of Faizabad tehsil for criminal conspiracy, fraud and misusing the funds donated by devotees of Lord Ram in buying nazul land.

Dharam Das is the disciple of late Mahant Ram Abhiram Das, who was closely associated with the

Ram Temple

movement. A prominent face of

Ram Mandir Movement

and one of the main litigants from Hindu side in the Ram Janmabhoomi title suit, lodged a complaint at Ram Janmabhoomi police station regarding the purchase of nazul land by

temple trust

.

Das has also named Faizabad sub-registrar SB Singh as accused. He said, “Was the office of sub-registrar not aware that ‘nazul’ land was sold twice. Mahant Devendra Prasadacharya had sold this plot of 676 square metre to Deep Narayan, nephew of Ayodhya mayor Rishikesh Upadhyay, for Rs 20 lakh in February. Deep Narayan sold it to the trust for Rs 2.5 crore in May. The value of this land, as per DM circle rate, is approximately Rs 35 lakh.”

The seer has also named BJP MLA from Gosaiganj constituency, Indra Pratap Tiwari and trustee Anil Mishra in complaint for being witnesses in the deal.

He also demanded sacking of Rai as secretary and handing over responsibilities of the trust to seers and mahants of Ayodhya. “The government should not get involved in temple construction, it should run the country,” said Das.

No trustee reacted on the development, though Prakash Gupta, the in charge of the camp office, said, “If it is nazul land then a complaint should have been filed with nazul officers, not police. We bought the land and paid money, where is the corruption in this?”

Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.