Lucknow/Ayodhya, June 13

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai was on Sunday accused of buying a piece of land worth Rs 2 crore at an inflated price of Rs 18.5 crore for Ram Temple with the help of a Trust member. Rai strongly refuted the allegation by AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh and a former minister in the Samajwadi Party government, Pawan Pandey.

Singh and Pandey sought a probe by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate. They alleged Rai purchased the land, measuring 1.208 hectares in Bag Bjaisi village, Ayodhya district, for Rs 18.5 crore from a purchaser who had bought it minutes earlier on March 18 from the original owners for a sum of Rs 2 crore.

“Our opponents have been making unfounded allegations against us, including the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, for the past 100 years,” Rai said, dismissing the charge. — PTI