Former IPS officer Amitabh Thakur submitted his application for the new post of CEO at Ayodhya's Ram Mandir Trust. Thakur, a 1992-batch UP cadre officer, was "compulsorily retired" by MHA in 2021 on the ground that he was "unfit for public service". Notably, role of CEO reportedly requires a "practising Hindu" aged between 50-70 with 20 years of administrative experience.