Suspended Badrinath Temple Staffer Arrested Over Alleged Donation Irregularities

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Uttarakhand Police has arrested suspended staff of Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC), Pramod Nautiyal, in a high-profile probe into irregularities in donations at the historic Badrinath shrine.

Police picked up Nautiyal, personal assistant to the BKTC chairman, from his residence in Dehradun and took him back to Chamoli district for intense questioning. The arrest comes after an internal temple investigation that found the initial charges against him to be substantiated.

The Breakthrough and CCTV

The case blew open after serious discrepancies were noted in the manual counting of the devotees’ offerings at the temple.

A preliminary investigation by an internal panel of four BKTC officials soon revealed major violations of established protocols. The state authorities immediately formed a SIT to probe further into the financial irregularities. His arrest was sealed with the recovery of critical security footage from the temple grounds.

Senior police officials said that CCTV cameras fitted inside the donation counting area caught Nautiyal in a very suspicious act. The footage is said to have captured him taking bundles of cash, ₹100 and ₹500 notes, gold and silver coins, sacred Shaligram stones and unopened envelopes with offerings from devotees. Investigators say he made multiple repeated trips back and forth between the official donation room and his own office, leading police to believe he was using his office space to hide the stolen valuables before moving them out.

Claims of a Political Cover-Up

Badrinath is one of the holiest pilgrimage sites in Hinduism and an important pillar of the Char Dham Yatra. News of the theft has led to a fierce political showdown in Uttarakhand.

The opposition Congress party has openly raised doubts about the transparency of the police probe. State Congress leaders have expressed fears that Nautiyal is being made a convenient scapegoat, saying he is under tremendous pressure from the powers that be to keep mum and not name more powerful people who may be involved in a larger temple racket. “The opposition is demanding the immediate sacking of the trust’s current chairman so that the inquiry is genuinely independent.

The ruling BJP has reacted strongly to the allegations of a cover-up. Party officials called the embezzlement of the sacred offerings a “grave sin" and stressed that the swift cross-city arrest showed that the state government was dealing with the issue with full impartiality. They promised that no one, regardless of their political or administrative position, will be spared if the investigation uncovers further structural corruption.

Upping the Ante to a High-Level Probe

Nautiyal denies any wrongdoing, and after his arrest he told reporters he had "nothing to say" and had done nothing wrong. He has already filed a petition challenging his immediate suspension and the police FIR against him and moved the Uttarakhand High Court.

The chief minister has stepped in to ensure complete transparency after public anger over mismanagement of religious donations. Meanwhile, the state government has ordered a parallel high-level probe to run alongside the police investigation. A special committee, led by the Garhwal Division Commissioner, has been tasked with auditing the entire financial framework and donation management system of the temple to plug administrative loopholes and prevent future vulnerabilities at the revered shrine.