BKTC employee Nautiyal arrested for alleged theft of Badrinath offerings
PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE | Chamoli / Dehradun
The Chamoli police have arrested a temple committee employee for allegedly stealing cash and other offerings from the ‘Thali Bhaint’ counting room at the Badrinath Temple – one of the four Dhams, Uttarakhand houses. The arrest was made after an investigation based on CCTV footage and other evidence, police said.
Based on the evidence collected during the investigation, the SIT arrested Pramod Nautiyal from his residence in Dehradun at around 10 PM on Sunday, police further said, adding that he has been produced before the court and further legal proceedings are underway.
Police informed that the case had come to light on July 2 during the counting of Thali Bhaint offerings at the temple. “A preliminary inquiry found that temple committee employee Nautiyal had taken the temple donation and other offerings for his personal use. Following this, Yuddhveer Pushpwan, the in-charge temple officer of the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee, filed a written complaint at Badrinath police station on July 8.
Based on the complaint, police had registered a case under appropriate sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The Chamoli superintendent of police Surjeet Singh Panwar had thereafter formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the supervision of the circle officer Madan Singh Bisht to investigate the matter.
During the investigation, police inspected the counting room, recorded statements of the complainant and other witnesses and carefully examined CCTV footage. The footage allegedly showed the accused hiding cash and other offerings under his mobile phone and inside his pockets before taking them out of the room. Police said that the accused had allegedly taken Rs 500 currency notes, packets of gold and silver coins, a Shaligram Shila and a packet of saffron at different times.
