An FIR has been registered against a suspended employee of the Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee in connection with alleged irregularities in the handling of donations at the Badrinath temple, police said on Wednesday, according to PTI.
The FIR was registered late on Tuesday against Pramod Nautiyal, who was posted as a personal assistant in the BKTC chairman's office, as per the report. The action came hours after Nautiyal was suspended, following a four-member inquiry committee's finding that the allegations of irregularities in donation management were prima facie true. The BKTC is a statutory body responsible for managing the Badrinath temple and other shrines in Uttarakhand.
The FIR has reportedly been registered under sections pertaining to theft by a clerk or servant of property in the possession of their employer, and criminal breach of trust, at the Badrinath police station.
Internal inquiry and government probe run in parallel
As per PTI, Nautiyal was issued a show-cause notice on 3 July, before the four-member internal inquiry committee examined the allegations against him. Based on its preliminary findings, the committee recommended his suspension, observing that his continuation in office could influence the ongoing probe. During the suspension period, he has been attached to the BKTC office in Joshimath and will receive a subsistence allowance as per service rules, the report said.
Speaking to the news agency, BKTC Chairman Hemant Dwivedi said the temple body follows a "zero-tolerance policy" towards corruption, adding that strict departmental and legal action would be taken against any employee found guilty during the investigation.
As part of the probe, officials are examining CCTV footage from the temple premises, donation registers, cash-handling procedures and other financial records. The BKTC clarified that although some CCTV cameras had recently been replaced, data stored in the earlier digital video recorders has been preserved and will be used during the investigation.
On Tuesday, the Uttarakhand government also constituted its own three-member probe committee, separate from the BKTC's internal action, according to PTI. The Garhwal division commissioner will chair this committee, which has been asked to submit its findings and recommendations to the state government within 15 days.
The report noted that the matter gained attention after allegations of irregularities during the counting of donations at the Badrinath temple surfaced on social media, following which an organisation named 'Bhairav Sena' lodged a complaint demanding an inquiry and the registration of an FIR.
The controversy has also drawn political reactions, with Uttarakhand Congress president Ganesh Godiyal demanding either a judicial inquiry or an investigation by a joint committee of the state Assembly into the alleged irregularities, PTI reported.
The Badrinath temple, one of the four shrines of the Char Dham Yatra, receives lakhs of pilgrims every year and handles substantial donations during the annual pilgrimage season, the report noted. The state government has said the inquiry is aimed not only at determining whether any wrongdoing occurred, but also at identifying systemic gaps and strengthening public confidence in the management of temple funds.
