Badrinath donation theft: Cash recovered as SIT says accused admitted to crime

Badrinath SHO Mahadev Uniyal said the recoveries were made from the accommodation allotted to Nautiyal at Badrinath Dham

The special investigation team (SIT) of Chamoli Police on Friday said suspended Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) personal assistant Pramod Nautiyal has confessed to his role in the alleged donation theft at Badrinath temple.

Officials said silver coins, ornaments, Nepalese currency and cash were recovered during searches conducted while he was in four-day police custody.

Badrinath SHO Mahadev Uniyal said the recoveries were made from the accommodation allotted to Nautiyal at Badrinath Dham.

“We recovered silver coins, small silver idols, small silver tortoises, bundles of Nepalese currency notes and some cash from his room. We are examining whether these are linked to the alleged misappropriation of temple donations,” Uniyal said.

The SHO said Nautiyal also admitted to committing the offence during interrogation.

“He confessed to the crime during questioning,” Uniyal said.

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Police have also seized documents related to Nautiyal’s properties to verify how they were acquired, he added.

According to the SHO, Nautiyal did not corroborate the possible involvement of any other accused during questioning.

“After the expiry of his police remand, he was produced before the court and sent back to judicial custody,” Uniyal said.

During the four-day remand, the SIT took Nautiyal to the BKTC office, his residence in Dehradun and his accommodation in Badrinath as part of the investigation, police said.

Nautiyal, who was arrested on July 12, was responsible for coordinating VIP protocol and supervising donation counting at the Badrinath temple. Investigators are also examining the handling of funds collected for VIP darshan as part of the probe.

The alleged donation theft is being investigated on multiple fronts. A four-member internal committee constituted by the BKTC has submitted its preliminary report to the committee chairman. Separately, an SIT of the police is probing the case, while a high-level committee constituted by the Uttarakhand government is conducting an independent inquiry.