by Sucheta Roy
Ayodhya Police in Uttar Pradesh has filed a an FIR against a priest for allegedly selling temple’s property, Naya Anand Bhavan to the Ram Mandir Trust through deceptive manner.
The complaint was filed by the temple’s guard Anand Prakash Pathak, who asserts that the property was an ancient religious asset and that it could not be transferred for personal gains.
The police said that Ramakan Pathak the accused had already been removed before from his position as the temple priest due to some misconduct.
Inspite of a court’s order in 2016 that asked him to leave the temple premises, he still continued to stay there and later intrigued with the revenue officials to transfer the temple’s property on his name, the complaint said.
On 21st September 2024, he apparently sold 21,198.8 square feet of the temple’s land to the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra, the Ram temple trust, for Rs 6 crore using some forged documents. After a court directive, the Uttar Pradesh police filed an FIR and the investigations are underway.
The Naya Anand Bhavan Temple is an ancient religious site which is located on Nazul land in Chak Ramkot, Ayodhya. The temple was originally built by Ram Sundar, a devotee, who later registered the temple’s ownership and management with the sub-registrar’s office in Faizabad on 6th January 1962, and 8th November 1967.
In the registered documents, it is clearly stated that no individual can sell or transfer any part of the temple’s property for personal gains. The temple has been supervised by a management committee, of which Anand Prakash Pathak serves as president and caretaker.
As, the accused Ramakant Pathak, did not follow the court order, and hence, which led to the ongoing legal battle. According to the complaint, Ramakant Pathak, along with a Nazul clerk named Lalamani and fraudulently altered all the official land records. By forging the real documents, he falsely registered himself as the owner of the temple land, despite court’s orders against him.