SP leader alleges corruption by Ram Janmbhoomi Trust in land deal, seeks CBI probe

Holding a press conference, Samajwadi Party leader Tej Narayan Pandey accused Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust of committing corruption in the land deal.

Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh): Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Tej Narayan Pandey on Sunday accused Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust of committing corruption in a land deal and sought a CBI probe into the matter. The said piece of land, which is 12,080 square metres in area, is in Ayodhya's Vijeshwar area.

Holding a press conference on Sunday, Pandey said that "The piece of land was earlier purchased for Rs 2 crores by Ravi Mohan Tiwari and Sultan Ansari. 10 minutes later, the Trust bought the land for Rs 18.5 crores on March 18." The SP leader also claimed that Rs 17 crore was sent to the bank account of Ravi Mohan Tiwari and Sultan Ansari through RTGS mode of payment and demanded a probe into the RTGS money transfer.

He also said that Trust member Anil Mishra and Mayor of Ayodhya Rishikesh Upadhyay are witnesses in both the sale agreements. Taking to Twitter, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh, attaching several documents, said: "Ravi Mohan Tiwari and Sultan Ansari bought land worth Rs 2 crores at 7:10 pm. At 7:15 pm, Champat Rai of Ram Janmabhoomi Trust bought this land from them for Rs 18.5 crores."

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Champat Rai is the General Secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. In February 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the constitution of 'Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Trust' which would oversee the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, nearly three months after the Supreme Court ruling in the decades-old case.

In November 2019, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court had ruled unanimously in favour of Ram Lalla. It said the entire disputed land spread over 2.7-acre will be handed over to a trust formed by the government, which will monitor the construction of Ram temple at the site. The court had asked the government to give 5 acres of land to Sunni Waqf Board in Ayodhya for the construction of a mosque.

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(ANI)