STF Uttarakhand police have arrested an accountant identified as Prakash Goswami from ISBT in Dehradun on Monday on the charge of spiriting away Rs 40 lakh from a pre-paid booking counter for horse, mule, palki and kandi.
Goswami had been appointed by the Rudraprayag district administration as an accountant for the counter. Notably, the police had acted after then district sport officer has registered a complaint against him at Ukhimath police station in Rudraprayag district in October 1, 2013. A warrant had been issued against him too. Since then he had been on the run, moving from place to place to evade arrest.
It is learnt that earlier he had been appointed as junior assistant, Prantiya Khand, Public Works Department (PWD), Rudraprayag. On the direction of then district magistrate, he had been appointed as the accountant for the Gaurikund- Kedarnath pedestrian road during Kedarnath Dham Yatra in 2013. Between June 13 and June 15, 2013, Goswami had allegedly siphoned off Rs 40 lakh. After the deluge 2013 had ravaged Kedarnath in June 2013 Goswami had gone missing. Rudraprayag SP had announced a reward of Rs 2000 for information leading to his arrest and the amount had been later raised to Rs 5000 by DIG.
While being grilled following his arrest, he admitted to having hidden himself at a house on Abu Road at Sirohi in Rajasthan while working as a waiter in a local hotel, away from his kin. He further said that he had thought that the administration would not have searched for him, considering him as one of the missing of the Kedarnath disaster.
The accused has been sent to Ukhimath, Rudraprayag for further investigation, police said.