Ram Mandir land scam: Sanjay Singh threatens to go to court; RSS pulls up Champat Rai

As the furore over the Ram Mandir scam intensifies, AAP MP Sanjay Singh reminded on Saturday that those accused by him are yet to face action. Pointing that an FIR has not been filed against Ram Mandir Trust chief Champat Rai and Dr Anil Mishra, Singh warned to go to court over inaction. AAP and SP leaders have accused Ram Janmabhoomi Trust of buying a piece of land at inflated rates which have been refuted by UP CM Yogi Adityanath.

AAP MP: 'No FIR yet, will go to court'

As per local reports, Rai was pulled up by the RSS at its annual pracharaks' meet underway in Chitrakoot. Reports suggest that Rai may be removed from the Ram Mandir Trust while Mishra may be inducted into one of RSS' organisations. Former RSS Sarkaryavah Bhaiyyaji Joshi may travel to Ayodhya soon to decide the further course in Ram Mandir construction, said reports. The Trust has stalled any new land purchases temporarily amid the scam accusations.

Ram Mandir land scam

On June 13, AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and SP's ex-MLA Pawan Pandey accused Champat Rai of buying a piece of land worth Rs 2 crore at an inflated price of Rs 18.5 crore for the Ram temple premises with help from Trust's member Anil Mishra. Both the leaders alleged that Rai purchased the land, measuring 1.208 hectares and located in Bag Bjaisi village under Sadar tehsil of Ayodhya district for a price of Rs 18.50 crore from the first purchaser, who had bought it minutes earlier on March 18 this year from its original owners for a sum of Rs two crores. Terming it a case of money laundering, Singh and Pandey both sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate into the land purchase for the temple premises.

Singh explained that the land was first purchased by Sultan Ansari on March 18 this year from its original owner Kusum Pathak, wife of Harish Kumar Pathak alias Baba Hardas for a sum of Rs 2 crore. Minutes later, the same land was purchased by Trust chairperson Rai for a sum of Rs 18.50 crore from Ansari, Singh said, quoting entries of the second sale deed showing the transaction between Ansari and Rai. Congress too has lambasted the Trust demanding an SC-monitored probe into the alleged scam and lodged an FIR against Rai.

Refuting the allegations, the trust stated that 1.2080 hectares of land were purchased for Rs 1423 per square feet - purportedly much lesser than the actual market rate in Ayodhya - and that agreements for the same land had been made multiple times since 2011 but had reportedly never matured. As per the Trust, it made a final agreement with the owners of the land with 'immediate effect' after the previous agreements were finalised and said that while it was done 'quickly', it was done in a 'transparent manner', via online banking. BJP has termed the allegations an attempt to defame the Mandir.