Ram Mandir Trust accused of major land scam; Oppn questions impossible inflation of land price [details]

The allegations of a new Ram Mandir Trust scam has drawn criticism towards the centre, which set up the temple body for the construction and management of Ram temple in Ayodhya. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) have accused the Ram Temple trust of a major land scam, wherein the price of a piece of land was inflated exorbitantly in a matter of few minutes. It is alleged that the trust bought a piece of land worth Rs 2 crore at Rs 18.5 crore for Ram temple premises and the inflation was done just by exchanging hands.

Shriram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai has strongly refuted the allegations and said that a response will be given after thoroughly studying the charges levelled against the trust. Meanwhile, AAP's Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh and a former minister in the Samajwadi Party government, Pawan Pandey, held press conferences to level the allegations of corruption on Ram Mandir trust.

"We were also accused of killing Mahatma Gandhi. We don't care about such allegations. We will study them and then reply," Rai said.

Ram Mandir Trust scam allegations

AAP's Sanjay Singh alleged that the land's value was Rs 2 crore, at which it was bought from the original sellers, but an additional Rs 16.5 crore was paid to another seller minutes later. According to the AAP leader, both the transactions were allegedly done at the behest of Rai, and trust member Anil Mishra and Ayodhya Mayor Rishikesh Upadhyay were witnesses to the registry. In light of this, Singh demanded a CBI and ED inquiry.

"No one can even imagine there will be corruption in the name of Lord Ram. But these documents show that crores of rupees have been embezzled," Singh said.

Echoing Singh's allegations, Pawan Pandey also questioned how the value of a land was increased by 10 times in a matter of just 10 minutes. "On March 18, 2021, the registry of land purchased in the name of Ram Temple showed its value at Rs 2 crore. But 10 minutes later, an agreement of Rs 18 crore was made between the Ram Temple Trust and the seller," alleged the SP leader, while sharing some documents to prove his point.

"Crores of people gave made donations to the Ram Temple Trust. They dug into their savings to donate. If this is what you do to their money, then this is an insult to the 120 crore people of the country," Pandey said.

The land in question is located in Bag Bjaisi village under Sadar tehsil of Ayodhya district, measuring 1.208 hectares.