Over 5,300 apply for Ram Temple CEO post, 18 shortlisted for interviews

New Delhi:After allegations of misuse of Ram temple donations came to light, the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust has moved ahead with the appointment of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO). More than 5,300 people applied for the post while 18 candidates have been shortlisted for interviews, temple sources said on Monday.

The interviews will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday at the temple premises. The panel will include former Justice Pramod Kohli, Lieutenant General (retd) Vishnukant Chaturvedi and scientist Suresh Haware, former chairman of the Shirdi Sai Baba Trust.

The CEO will be responsible for handling the administration, management and business affairs of the Ram temple. The appointment comes as the trust faces scrutiny following allegations of embezzlement involving temple donations.

Eligibility rules for CEO post

Sources said candidates with administrative experience are likely to be preferred. The selected candidate must be a practising Hindu and follow Hindu traditions and guidelines.

The eligibility conditions also require the candidate to be a pure vegetarian and a strict teetotaller. The age limit for the post has been fixed between 50 and 70 years.

Appointment follows donation probe

The trust decided to appoint a CEO after allegations of donation embezzlement came to light in the first week of June. The Uttar Pradesh government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on June 13 to investigate the allegations.

After the preliminary SIT report was submitted on June 23, an FIR was registered on June 25. Eight accused were arrested including Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav.

Police recovered cash from several accused with the highest recovery of Rs 20.39 lakh from Shukla. Gold, silver and foreign currency were also recovered during the investigation.

The CEO selection has now narrowed to 18 candidates while the ongoing probe continues to keep the trust’s financial and administrative oversight under focus.