In a major development in the alleged Badrinath Temple donation theft case, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has arrested suspended Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) employee Pramod Nautiyal. Uttarakhand Police said he was arrested in Dehradun on Monday. Nautiyal will be produced before the Gopeshwar court later today for further legal proceedings.
The police said several teams were formed to trace the accused. He was located in Dehradun, after which an SIT team reached the spot. Following about an hour of questioning, he was arrested between 9.45 pm and 10.15 pm on Sunday.
The SIT said it will seek his police custody during the court proceedings. The case relates to alleged theft and irregularities in the handling of donations at the Badrinath Temple, one of India's most revered pilgrimage sites. After the allegations surfaced, the state government formed an SIT to investigate the matter and identify those responsible.
Earlier, Uttarakhand Police said CCTV footage allegedly showed Nautiyal, who has been suspended from the BKTC, hiding or stealing cash, gold and silver coins, Shaligram stones and offering envelopes from the temple's donation counting room.
Police said the footage also showed Nautiyal moving repeatedly between the donation counting room and his office. Investigators suspect he may have kept the stolen items inside his office after removing them from the counting area.
According to the police, the CCTV footage from July 2 allegedly shows Nautiyal handling bundles of Rs 500 and Rs 100 notes, gold and silver coins, Shaligram stones and offering envelopes believed to contain around Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000. They claimed he made several trips between the counting room and his office, raising suspicion that the items were being hidden there.
The probe began after alleged irregularities were noticed during the counting of devotees' cash offerings on July 2. An initial investigation reportedly found that cash had been removed from the counting area in violation of the prescribed procedure.
The FIR was registered at the Badrinath Police Station on the complaint of BKTC In-charge Temple Officer Yudhvir Pushpwan. The SIT has also recorded his statement. Statements of other BKTC officials, including CCTV control officer Panwar and Harender Kothari, who was present during the donation counting, have also been recorded.
Meanwhile, Nautiyal has approached the Uttarakhand High Court challenging both his suspension and the FIR against him. The matter came up before Justice Alok Mehra, who directed the BKTC to file its response. The next hearing has been scheduled for July 16.
The case is currently being examined by multiple agencies, including the state police, the SIT, the BKTC's departmental inquiry committee and a high-level committee headed by the Garhwal Commissioner.
Also read: BKTC orders stricter checks on temple offerings
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