Ram Temple trust head tests coronavirus positive, had shared stage with PM Modi

New Delhi : The head of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust or the Ram Temple trust in Ayodhya, who had recently shared stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 5, has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, 82, was among the five people who were present on stage during the foundation stone laying ceremony. The others who were on the stage were Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Governor Anandiben Patel and Mohan Bhagwat, chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP's ideological mentor.

Nritya Gopal Das is currently in Mathura. "We were informed that Maharaj-ji has some fever, so we sent a team of doctors and they investigated and gave medicines . The fever is normal. He has mild breathlessness and we checked his oxygen level. It is saturated. There is nothing serious. We checked for coronavirus, did antigen test and there is positivity," Sarvagya Ram Mishra, District Magistrate of Mathura, told reporters.

"The Chief Minister has directed that Maharaj-ji be shifted to the Medanta Hospital and we are getting that done as soon as possible. Maharaj-ji is stable," he said.

Days before the Ayodhya ceremony, priest and some policemen had tested positive.