The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust is set to appoint Jagdish Aafle, the Ram temple's construction project manager, as its first secretary.
The proposal is expected to come up for approval at the trust's executive meeting on September 2, with a formal announcement likely once the appointment is cleared, reported PTI, citing temple sources.
Interim General Secretary Krishna Mohan has confirmed that Aafle's name has been put forward for the newly created post. A separate process to appoint a trust spokesperson is also under way, with several candidates under consideration, though no decision has been finalised.
Who Is Jagdish Aafle?
Aafle, a Pune resident originally from Maharashtra, holds a BTech in Electrical Engineering and an MTech from IIT Bombay, and is affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
He is understood to have worked in India, Europe and the United States before returning to the country after retirement.
Sources told the agency that he joined the temple project as an honorary project manager on the RSS's recommendation when construction began, and has since resided with his wife on the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra premises in Ayodhya.
Appointments Follow Donation Row
The move is part of a broader administrative revamp at the trust following allegations that cash offerings made by devotees had been misappropriated.
A Special Investigation Team was set up in June after the trust sought a probe into the matter, and submitted a preliminary report later that month. Police subsequently registered an FIR and arrested eight people in connection with the case.
The controversy prompted General Secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra to step down from their posts, triggering the restructuring exercise now underway at the temple trust.
ALSO READ: Ram Temple Donation Theft: Who Is Krishna Mohan? The Interim Trust Chief Replacing Champat Rai
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