Police have seized CCTV footage from the temple's currency-counting room after investigators reportedly identified additional BKTC employees for scrutiny. The probe now spans both administrative procedures and the criminal investigation.
According to the police, the incident took place around 1:30 a.m. when the attackers entered the house and assaulted Mewa Singh with sharp-edged weapons, severing his head and one of his hands.
While police claim that it looked like a drug overdose case, his family is calling it murder and demanding a fair investigation into the matter.
The apex court stated that the matter exposes serious concerns regarding the effectiveness of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, in securing relief for homebuyers.
The accused have been identified as Sunita Kushwah, 40, wife of Baliram, and Rahul Dashrath Prajapati, 30, a rickshaw driver from Ghansoli.
Investigators allege Bhatti's network relied on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and WhatsApp to contact young people, while intelligence agencies claim it shifted its recruitment focus from Uttar Pradesh to Maharashtra to avoid detection.
The unusually large balance was reportedly visible in both the pensioner's and his son's accounts before disappearing after verification, prompting bank officials to investigate the apparent system error.
BKTC will also fast-track the deployment of a dedicated security team at Badrinath Temple as investigators probe the alleged money trail linked to the suspected misappropriation of devotees' donations.
Heavy rain warnings have also been issued for Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar and Gangetic West Bengal, while Uttarakhand is expected to come under a heavy rainfall alert from July 15 before the wet spell extends to parts of the western Himalayas later this week.
The US Ambassador said that both sides had "very constructive meetings and reaffirmed their commitment to finalizing a trade deal."
