Former temple officer arrested in Badrinath donation theft probe

Uttarakhand Police on Friday arrested a former temple officer in connection with the alleged misappropriation of donations at the Badrinath Shrine. The arrest comes in the backdrop of a continuing probe into the incident by the Special Investigation Team.

Chamoli Superintendent of police Surjeet Singh Panwar informed that on the basis of electronic, documentary and oral evidence, which emerged during the investigation, the involvement of another accused in the case has been proved and subsequently has been arrested.

Identified as Rajendra Chauhan, he was arrested from Jyotirmath and brought to the Shri Badrinath police station. It is learnt that was a permanent employee of Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee and late became temple officer and counting in-charge before retiring from the job.

Police said that CCTV footage had clearly shown Chauhan pocketing bundles of Rs 500 notes, donations and jewelry on several occasions on June 22, 25 and 29. Based on the available electronic evidence and other evidence, he was named as a co-accused, police added.

Police further said that the accused is currently being questioned in detail. Notably, based on the complaint received in the matter, a case was registered at Shri Badrinath Kotwali and based on the preliminary investigation and available evidence, the police team arrested the prime accused, Pramod Nautiyal on 12 July. He is currently in judicial custody.