Badrinath temple donation theft row: BKTC employee Pramod Nautiyal arrested | Today’s news
Uttarakhand police on Monday said they have made the first arrest in connection with alleged irregularities in the handling of donations at the Badrinath temple. According to the police, the accused Pramod Nautiyal was arrested from his residence in Dehradun on Sunday.
Allegations against Pramod Nautiyal
Nautiyal is a suspended employee of the Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) and served as the personal assistant to the BKTC chairman. BKTC is the statutory body that manages the Badrinath Temple and other shrines in Uttarakhand.
A four-member BKTC commission of inquiry found allegations of irregularities in the management of donations against Nautiyal to be prima facie true. Preliminary investigation revealed that cash was taken from the counting area in violation of established procedures.
The inquiry report found prima facie evidence that the advance funds were released from the temple corpus without the approval of the concerned authority, amounting to financial irregularity.
According to the report, the roles of then manager Kedarnath, then senior manager Kedarnath and then CEO were found to be questionable.
According to the police, CCTV footage showed Nautiyal “suspiciously hiding or stealing” cash, gold and silver coins, shaligram stones and offering envelopes from the temple’s donation counter.
Earlier, Nautiyal had moved the Uttarakhand High Court challenging his suspension and filing an FIR against him. The next meeting is scheduled for July 16.
Investigation into Badrinath gift theft
The Uttarakhand state government also set up its own three-member inquiry committee last week.
The case is currently being investigated by the police, the SIT, the BKTC union inquiry committee and a high-level committee headed by Commissioner Garhwal.
The issue gained attention after allegations of irregularities during the counting of donations at the Badrinath temple surfaced on social media. Subsequently, an organization named “Bhairav Sena” filed a complaint and demanded an investigation and registration of an FIR in the matter.
On Sunday, the Uttarakhand government directed the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BKTC to initiate action against officials and employees found responsible for the alleged irregularities.
