Lucknow, July 3 -- At a time when various allegations are being made against Champat Rai, who has resigned as Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary, with people seeking to fix moral responsibility on him for the Ram temple donation controversy being probed by a state government-constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT), the managing committee member of another Ayodhya temple has levelled fresh charges against him. Speaking to the media at the Samajwadi Party headquarters in Lucknow in the presence of SP president Akhilesh Yadav and the party's former Ayodhya MLA Tej Narayan 'Pawan' Pandey, Hari Shankar Safriwala, a member of the managing committee of Ram Niwas Mandir - a temple located in close proximity to the main Ram Janmabhoomi Temple - on Thursday accused Rai and his associates of illegally taking idols, jewellery, and other valuables from the shrine. He also claimed that land parcels belonging to the Ram Niwas Mandir, worth hundreds of crores of rupees, were usurped. Safriwala alleged that a priest appointed by the temple's panchayat committee was misled into signing a bogus ownership transfer document showing a deal worth Rs.5.80 crore. Of this amount, Rs.60 lakh was allegedly transferred to the priest and his brother through banking channels. The fresh allegations are not under the purview of the SIT probe. "When we came to know about it, we confronted them. Champat Rai then offered us a settlement of Rs.5-6 crore, which we outrightly refused," Safriwala said. He further claimed that after the confrontation, Rai and his men removed idols, jewellery, and a valuable seat worth crores from the temple. "They told us the belongings were taken into custody for safety. We demanded a receipt, but none was ever provided," he added. Safriwala also alleged that two large parcels of temple land, one measuring 250 bigha and another 40 bigha, were seized by people linked to Champat Rai. Offerings and donations made at Ram Niwas Mandir were allegedly embezzled without any proper accounts, he said. Despite approaching the police, the superintendent of police and the district magistrate, no FIR was registered, he claimed. Speaking to HT later, Safriwala said, "I have all the registered documents. I have approached everyone and sent complaints via registered post, but nothing was done. I must have gone to the police station at least 50 times to register my FIR, but no FIR has been registered against Champat Rai yet who has taken away everything from our temple." "I met the SIT members on June 20, 2026 and gave them all the papers; I also sent them via registered post. They just took the papers, and when I tried to meet the SIT a second time, I was stopped at the gates," he stated. "On Wednesday (July 1), I went to the Ram Janmabhoomi police station in Ayodhya once again in an attempt to register my FIR. Let's see if the police register my FIR this time. I have also given applications to the SP, DSP, DIG and even the DM," he said. The Ram temple donation controversy first surfaced on June 7 when Samajwadi Party leader Tej Narayan 'Pawan' Pandey alleged that donations worth Rs.5 crore to Rs.7.5 crore were siphoned off from temple offerings. Later that day, Akhilesh Yadav wrote about the allegations on X....