A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Chamoli Police in Uttarakhand on Friday arrested a retired employee of the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) on charges of stealing money from the donation room of the shrine.
Police said CCTV footage showed him earning money three times before his retirement on June 30.
“We have discovered the involvement of former temple officer Rajendra Chauhan in the Badrinath temple donation theft case. He was found carrying cash on three occasions on June 22, 25 and 29 in the CCTV footage we have examined. He retired on June 30,” said station house officer (SHO) of Badrinath police station Mahadev Unyal.
SHO Uniyal said they arrested Chouhan on Friday afternoon and would produce him before the court on Saturday.
Police have arrested a suspended BKTC employee, Pramod Nautiyal, who was working as a personal assistant in the BKTC chairman’s office, in connection with the case.
The office added, “Initial evidence indicates that the defendants conspired in the case. But we will question him further to ascertain the full extent of his role.”
He added that the police will approach the sessions court on Saturday to seek police custody of Nautiyal, who was arrested on Sunday and subsequently sent to judicial custody for 14 days.
“We have examined footage covering four days for counting donations – June 22, June 25, June 29 and July 2. The accused (Nutiyal) was seen stealing money on all four occasions,” Onial said.
Nautiyal used to handle the VIP protocol and supervise the donation count at Badrinath temple. According to BKTC, he joined the committee in 2003 and was organized in 2014.
The police have not yet been able to recover any stolen cash, gold or silver coins, except for the Shaligram stone. “During interrogation, he did not confess to the crime and evaded our questions,” Onial said.
The treasurer in charge of Badrinath temple donation counting center, Sandesh Mehta, was transferred on Wednesday. No wrongdoing was found on Mehta’s part, but he was replaced due to “certain deficiencies” in the process of weighing donations, BKTC CEO Sohan Singh Rangar said. Kedar Singh Rawat, an employee attached to Pooja’s office, has now been given charge.
The alleged theft of donations is being investigated on multiple fronts. A four-member internal committee constituted by BKTC submitted its initial report to the Chairman of the Committee. Separately, the police’s Special Investigation Committee is probing the case, while a high-level committee set up by the Uttarakhand government is conducting an independent probe.
