BADRINATH, Jul 16 (INS): The Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) has
introduced a fresh set of guidelines requiring pocketless clothing, mandatory
frisking and upgraded CCTV monitoring at the Badrinath temple premises following
the discovery of theft of donations of cash, silver and gold coins and jewellery
and other valuables from the counting centre.
An internal panel set up by the BKTC to inquire into allegations of theft and
audit temple the funds proposed the guifdelines.
In an internal action, temple treasurer Sandesh Mehta has been removed by the
management upon finding locker discrepancies.
Meanwhile, the SIT set up to probe the pilferage also questioned BKTC CEO Sohan
Singh Rangad and is expanding the scrutiny of employees.
After the theft came to light, an inquiry by the BKTC led to the suspension
of an employee, Pramod Nautiyal, who is the personal assistant of the chairman.
The committee also filed an FIR at the police station and consequently the Chamoli
police srt up an SIT. In a parallel development, the State Government also instituted
an inquiry lest it will be accused of inaction later.
Following the FIR, the police took into custody Pramod Nautiyal from his house
in Dehradun on Sunday evening. On Monday he was produced before the court and
was remanded to police custody for 14 days. No stolen goods have been recovered
so far, except a shaligram in stone.
SHO Uniyal reportedly said all the sample CCTV footages of four days—June 22,
25, 29 and July 2—examined showed Pramod taking money. Interrogation is going
on to find if other people are involved in the crime.
Pramod used to supervise the counting of donations and manage the protocol
of VIP darshans also.
Theft at more temples
Amid controversies over alleged misappropriation of devotees’ donations at the
Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya in UP, Sabarimala Sastha temple
and the Padmanabha Swamy temple allegedly by the then ruling Communit party
cadres, and the Badrinath temple in Uttarakhand, similar allegations have
now surfaced at Gujarat’s Ambaji temple whose CCTV video surfaced on social
media showing alleged theft from donation boxes. Here an outsourced firm's employee
was allegedly caught trying to steal Rs 1 lakh from the counting room. Three employees
have been dismissed, arrested and a criminal case is running.
Ambaji temple, located in the Banaskantha district near the Rajasthan
border, is one of India’s most revered Shakti Peethas.
Badrinath: Although Badrinath has been a recognized spiritual site of
the Hindus for thousands of years, it was revived as a shrine in the 8th century
AD by Sage Adi Sankaracharya. It is said Adi Sankaracharya recovered the idol
of Lord Vishnu from the Alaknanda river and established the shrine. Badrinath
as a spiritual centre finds mention in the ancient text of Vishnu Puranas.
Tailpiece: THE FATE OF THE GODS: Over time, becoming the target of encroaching
greedy politicians, and shorn of its ancient priestly lineage, the shrine at
Badrinath is losing its sanctity!
A chronology of developments at Badrinath
First, Bhairav Sena founder Sandeep Khatri publicly raised allegations of misappropriation
of donations. It appeared on social media. Counting irregularities came to light
on July 2. On July 3, Khatri submitted a written complaint to the BKTC Chief
Executive Officer Sohan Singh Rangad. The BKTC began scrutiny. Chairman Hemant
Dwivedi constituted a four-member inquiry committee to examine the allegations.
The committee began scrutinising CCTV footages. CCTV footage of July 2 reportedly
showed Pramod Nautiyal collecting cash suspiciously in the counting room.
On July 4, Chairman Hemant Dwivedi's personal assitant Nautiyal was suspended
and an FIR was lodged against him at Kotwali Badrinath on July 8. The complaint
was filed by temple officer Yudhveer Pushpwan.
On 8-9th July the SIT was constituted by SSP Surjit Singh Panwar and the Circle
Officer Madan Singh Bisht. At the same time the State Government also formed
a three-member high-level committee for an independent probe.
By the time. Nautiyal approached the High Court for protection from arrest
and challenged his suspension and the FIR.
However, Pramod Nautiyal was arrested in the night of July 12 from his house
in Dehradun. He has been remanded to police custody for 14 days.
The State Government’s high-level committee is continuing its inquiry, and
the SIT is inspecting CCTV footages, official records, witness statements and
reviewing the entire counting process. There is no evidence so far of a network
involving top officials.
After inspecting CCTV footage of June 22, 25 and 29 and July 2, the SIT detected
additional suspicious individuals in the counting room.
The SIT wil question more temple committee personnel to check any possible
insider network.
It has also questioned BKTC CEO Sohan Singh Rangad and is expanding the scrutiny
of employees.
On July 15, upon finding locker discrepancies temple treasurer Sandesh Mehta
was removed. An internal inspection of the temple’s double-lock vaults had revealed
that the actual volume of silver exceeded what was written in the register.
That was the result of manual "overwriting".
The BKTC has also officially handed over its internal inquiry findings to the
SIT.
Meanwhile, there are allegations that money is collected from devotees for
special darshan. It appeared on social media.
) 
