Lucknow: The head of a temple located adjacent to the Ram Mandir complex in Ayodhya on Thursday levelled serious allegations against Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai, claiming that "he and his gang" illegally grabbed control of the shrine through forged documents and that his complaints had been ignored by the authorities.

The allegations were made by Hari Shankar Safariwala, who identified himself as the panch pramukh of the centuries-old Ram Niwas temple in Ramkot, during a press conference addressed by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow.

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Safariwali attended the press conference with the former chief minister and Ayodhya ex-MLA Tej Narain Pandey to bring attention to his claims.

Addressing reporters, Safariwala claimed that the Ram Niwas temple is located directly next to the Ram Janmabhoomi complex and is managed by a panch committee, which has appointed a priest to oversee its operations.

Alleging a conspiracy to take over the temple, Safariwala claimed that "Champat Rai and his gang" prepared forged documents under the guise of a property agreement despite temples not being saleable properties.

"They prepared fake papers showing a deal worth Rs 5.80 crore and paid around Rs 60 lakh through banking channels to our appointed priest and his relatives," he alleged.

Safariwala further claimed that attempts were made to persuade the temple committee to part with the property by offering crores of rupees. "We told them that none of us is the owner. It is a panchayati temple, and the committee alone has authority over it. We cannot sell it," he said.

He alleged that the temple and the surrounding land, valued at around Rs 50 crore according to him, have remained under the control of the alleged occupiers for the past five years.

Claiming that devotees had offered donations running into lakhs of rupees during this period, Safariwala said the committee had sought accounts of the offerings but had received no response.

"We are distressed. We have approached officials repeatedly, but no one is willing to hear our complaint, which we have sent to the prime minister, chief minister, and local officials," he alleged.

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Following Safariwala's allegations, Yadav urged the authorities to conduct a fair and impartial investigation.

There was no immediate response from Champat Rai or the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust to the allegations.