Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh) [India], September 2 (ANI): A total of 5,538 applications were received for the post of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust before the final three names were discussed and Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra (Retd) was unanimously elected to the post, former interim general secretary of the Trust, Krishna Mohan said on Wednesday.

Speaking to ANI, Krishna Mohan said, “5538 applications were received, and we reached here after screening. The final three names were discussed, and he (Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra (Retd)) was unanimously elected as the CEO of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.”

The appointment came after the search committee submitted its final report on Tuesday following a rigorous screening process involving more than 5,000 applicants vying for the prestigious post.

The report was submitted during a high-level meeting attended by Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust members, including Treasurer Swami Govind Dev Giri Ji Maharaj, Mahant Dinendra Das, Acting General Secretary Krishna Mohan, and Ayodhya District Magistrate Shashank Tripathi.

The three-member search committee comprised Lieutenant General Vishnu Kant Chaturvedi (retd), former Scientist Suresh Haware and former Supreme Court judge Justice Pramod Kohli.

Treasurer of the Trust, Swami Govind Dev Giri Ji Maharaj, had said that the report will be taken up on Wednesday.

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on Wednesday also appointed three new trustees.

Delhi-based Mahesh Bhagchandka, Ayodhya-based Madan Mohan Pandey and Shikohabad-based Dr Nirmala Yadav will join the Trust as new trustees, Krishna Mohan said.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday expressed hope that there would be no theft of “Ram Dhan” as the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust meeting begins in Ayodhya to decide the first CEO.

Speaking to reporters, Yadav alleged that poor people were being defrauded of their land in Ayodhya.

“When new things happen, do we forget what happened in the past? We have no complaints from anyone, but the way the theft of donations happened, you sent ordinary employees to jail but spared the big names. We hope there will be no theft of ‘Ram Dhan, ‘ Yadav said. (ANI)