‘Suspicious stealing' of cash, gold, shaligram stones: Donation ‘theft’ at Badrinath Dham in focus after Ram Mandir

AN investigating is on-going into the alleged misapplication of donations at the Badrinath Dham temple in Uttarakhand after an intragroup prelim enquiry uncovered irregularities in the way temple offerings were handled. This case comes amid an ongoing row over the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ayodhya Ram Temple, which has seen eight arrests so far.On Saturday, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) stepped up its investigation by visiting the Badrinath shrine and reviewing fresh evidence, including CCTV footage and the accused's call records.'Stealing cash' on CCTV, call records examined: Inside Badrinath donation ‘theft’ probeUttarakhand Police said CCTV footage allegedly captured suspended Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) employee Pramod Nautiyal "suspiciously hiding or stealing" cash, gold and silver coins, shaligram stones and offering envelopes from the temple's donation counting room. Notably, the BKTC is the statutory body responsible for managing the Badrinath temple and several other shrines in Uttarakhand.Nautiyal was working as a personal assistant in the office of the BKTC chairman. He was suspended after a preliminary internal enquiry flagged irregularities in the handling of donations at Badrinath Dham, HT reported earlier.The CCTV footage showed the accused repeatedly moving between the donation counting room and his office, raising doubt that the missing items were being hidden there, news agency ANI quoted the police as saying.Police further said the footage allegedly showed Nautiyal hiding or stealing bundles of ₹500 and ₹100 notes, along with gold and silver coins, shaligram stones and offering envelopes believed to contain between ₹10,000 and ₹12,000, as per the ANI report.Police said investigators are now checking CCTV footage from June 25 and June 29. The SIT has also started analysing Nautiyal's call records.The SIT on Sunday recorded the statements of five witnesses in the alleged donation theft case. “We are currently investigating on the basis of the complaint given by the BKTC, we have recorded the statements of some of the available prime witnesses in the case. We are waiting for the official internal enquiry report of the BKTC,” superintendent of police (Chamoli) Surjit Singh Panwar told ANI.Amid the probe into the case, the Uttarakhand high court is set to hear a petition filed by Nautiyal on Friday (July 16), in which he has challenged both his suspension and the FIR registered against him.Badrinath Dham donation 'theft' caseThe probe began after alleged irregularities came to light during the counting of cash offerings made by devotees at the Badrinath temple on July 2.A preliminary enquiry reportedly found that cash had been taken out of the counting room without following the prescribed procedure.Police said an FIR has been filed against Nautiyal under Section 306 (theft by an employee of their employer's property) and Section 316(5) (criminal breach of trust by specific trustees) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.After allegations of theft of offerings at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, the Congress party criticised the government following similar claims at Badrinath Dham.The matter is being investigated simultaneously by the police, the SIT, the BKTC's departmental enquiry committee and a high-level committee headed by the Garhwal Commissioner.Ram Mandir donation theft caseThe controversy made headlines on June 7 after Samajwadi Party leader Tej Narayan 'Pawan' Pandey alleged that donations worth between ₹5 crore and ₹7.5 crore had been siphoned off from temple offerings.The Uttar Pradesh government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on June 13, while an FIR was registered on June 25.Eight people were arrested a day later, with police claiming to have recovered ₹79,85,493 from the accused.Although eight people have been arrested so far, investigators said more arrests could follow if the SIT finds the involvement of more people, including bank employees or others linked to the counting and deposit of temple donations.With inputs from agencies