: A day before a crucial meeting of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati, a member of the Trust, on Sunday strongly condemned the alleged theft of donation money at the Ram temple and stressed the need for professional management of the Trust.Shankaracharya also asserted that it was the collective responsibility of all Trustees, including him, to run the Trust properly. (For representation only)When contacted by Hindustan Times, Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati, who arrived in Ayodhya on Sunday for the Trust’s executive committee meeting scheduled for Monday—the first since the controversy came to light—said he learned of the alleged irregularities from newspaper reports.“If such an incident has taken place, it is condemnable,” he said, responding to a question on the ongoing probe by the Uttar Pradesh government’s three-member Special Investigation Team.“Such a crime cannot be accepted,” he said.When asked about reconstitution of the Trust, Swami Vasudevanand, who uses the title Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth, said: “The Trust has been constituted on orders of the Supreme Court. There is no need for any change in the Trust. But we need to ensure professional management of the Trust.”It is necessary so that such controversies do not take place again, he added.On Trust general secretary Champat Rai facing allegations of corruption, Vasudevanand Saraswati said: “He (Champat Rai) has been associated with the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) for long. All charges against him are unfounded.”On whether Rai’s resignation as general secretary of the Trust will be accepted, he said the Trust will take a decision on the issue.Shankaracharya also asserted that it was the collective responsibility of all Trustees, including him, to run the Trust properly. When asked about suggestions to improve the Trust’s working so that such incidents do not take place again, he said: “Whatever I have to suggest, I will apprise the Trust in the meeting.” His comments come even as the SIT probes the irregularities.The Ayodhya police arrested eight men on June 26 – Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Ram Shankar Yadav ‘Tinnu’, Manish Yadav, Subhash Srivastava, Avinash Shukla, Ramashankar Mishra, and Karunesh Pandey.All of them were appointed to the cash-counting team at the Ram temple by the Trust.