Cash, gold and silver cash pocketed from Badrinath temple donation, 1 arrested | India Information
3 min learnDehradunUp to date: Jul 13, 2026 03:15 PM IST
An official within the workplace of the chairman of the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee has been arrested in Uttarakhand for allegedly misappropriating temple donations, police mentioned Monday.
In accordance with Chamoli Police, the official was accused of misappropriating ‘thali bhent’ (plate choices) at Badrinath Dham. On July 8, Yudhveer Pushpwan, officer-in-charge of the Badrinath Temple, on behalf of the BKTC, submitted a written grievance at Badrinath Police Station. The grievance acknowledged that after info was acquired relating to monetary irregularities throughout the counting of ‘thali bhent’ donations on July 2, the chairman of the temple committee ordered a departmental inquiry.
An SIT arrested Pramod Nautiyal from his residence in Dehradun late Sunday. He was produced in court docket. “The investigation additional discovered that, at totally different occasions, the accused allegedly eliminated Rs 500 foreign money notes, packets containing gold and silver cash, a Shaligram stone, and a packet of saffron from the counting room and illegally took them into his possession. Statements of the complainant and different related witnesses have been recorded. Based mostly on the CCTV footage and different documentary proof, the police mentioned they’d gathered enough proof in opposition to the accused,” the Chamoli police mentioned in a press release.
In accordance with the police, preliminary inquiry discovered prima facie proof that Nautiyal, an worker of the temple committee, had illegally taken temple money and different choices from the donation counting room for his private profit. Based mostly on the grievance, an FIR was registered at Badrinath Police Station for theft by clerk or servant and aggravated prison breach of belief of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita.
Superintendent of Police Surjeet Singh Panwar mentioned that an SIT was constituted beneath the supervision of DSP. In the course of the investigation, the SIT inspected the scene, recorded statements of the complainant and different witnesses, and examined the CCTV footage from the donation counting room recorded on July 2. “The footage allegedly confirmed accused Pramod Nautiyal repeatedly taking money and different choices out of the counting room by concealing them beneath his cell phone and in his pockets,” the police have mentioned.
The Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) had earlier taken disciplinary motion by suspending Nautiyal. In accordance with the order issued by the committee, a show-cause discover was served to Nautiyal on July 3, after allegations of irregularities within the discharge of his official duties got here to mild.
On July 10, Nautiyal had moved the Uttarakhand Excessive Court docket after the FIR in search of aid within the matter. The excessive court docket had requested the state counsel to get directions and listed it on July 16.
