Donation 'Theft' at Badrinath Temple: Uttarakhand Govt Forms Probe Panel, FIR Against Employee

New Delhi: Allegations of donation theft have been gaining ground at Uttarakhand's Badrinath temple, as they have at the Ayodhya Ram Temple where new political developments have been coming in thick and fast.

Reports note that the Uttarakhand government is dissatisfied with the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee’s (BKTC) initial response to allegations of donation theft and that it has formed a high-level three-member committee to conduct an independent probe.

Days ago, Sandeep Khatri, a member of the organisation Bhairav Sena Sangathan, said that BKTC employee had been siphoning off donations and that the chairman Hemant Dwivedi had been informed about these "irregularities earlier."

Speaking to reporters, Uttarakhand tourism secretary Dhiraaj Singh Garbyal said that "not many things were clear" in the BKTC's response, leading to the decision to order a high-level probe.

The panel is headed by Garhwal commissioner Anand Swaroop, and has Sandeep Tiwari, managing director of Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN), and Jagat Singh Chauhan, a finance officer from the state finance department. Times of India reports that the committee needs to submit a comprehensive report within 15 days.

The newly formed committee will be reviewing 40 days of CCTV footage. Its investigation will also cover recommendations to improve staff conduct and enhance transparency.

A separate four-member committee constituted by the BKTC has found prima facie evidence of irregularities in the management of temple donations. A suspended BKTC employee, Pramod Nautiyal, who was private secretary to the BKTC chairman, has been booked. The first information report against him was registered late on July 7.