Badrinath Temple theft case: Employee suspended, FIR lodged, probe ordered by Dhami

The Uttarakhand government suspended an employee of the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC), who worked under Committee Chairman Hemant Dwivedi, for the alleged theft of Badrinath Temple donation money on July 2.

The temple officer in charge of the BKTC lodged an FIR against the suspended employee for the theft of donations collected in half an hour between 9:00 and 9:30 am.

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Pramod Nautiyal, in the donation money theft came to light during an investigation carried out by the BKTC after the matter surfaced on social media on July 3. After the probe report was submitted, he was served a show-cause notice but the BKTC management was not satisfied with his reply. BKTC Chairman Hemant Dwivedi, under whom Nautiyal worked, announced the employee’s suspension based on instructions from Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami regarding the temple donation theft case.

Besides his suspension, the Badrinath Temple officer in charge, Pushkar Pushpwan, also filed an FIR against Nautiyal.

Pushpwan alleged in the complaint lodged at the Badrinath police station. “With the receipt of the preliminary investigation report, it was confirmed prima facie that the concerned employee Pramod Nautiyal illegally took temple money from the donation plate between approximately 9:00 and 9:30 in the morning. He was suspended via an office order. Following this I have been directed through an office letter to file an FIR against the concerned employee. Therefore, kindly register an FIR against the concerned employee, Shri Pramod Nautiyal, for illegally taking away the temple’s donation funds for his personal gains.”

However, the Uttarakhand chief minister on Wednesday ordered further probe into the case resulting in the constitution of a three-member high-level committee, headed by Garhwal Commissioner Anand Swaroop to conduct a detailed probe into the matter.

Other members of the new probe committee will be National Health Mission (NHM) Managing Director Sandeep Tiwari and Jagat Singh Chauhan, Director Finance in the Office of Director General Medical and Health Department. According to the order issued by Tourism Secretary Dheeraj Singh Garbyal, the committee will hold a detailed investigation into alleged irregularities related to donations and offerings received at the temple and submit its report with recommendations to the government in 15 days.

During the inquiry, the committee may seek assistance or expert opinion from any officer, specialist, or other concerned person, if required. It will also recommend measures to make the management of donations and offerings more transparent, accountable, and efficient.