Badrinath donation theft case: Temple committee’s suspended employee Pramod Nautiyal arrested

Badrinath donation theft case: Pramod Nautiyal, the key accused in the alleged irregularities in the handling of donations at the Badrinath temple in Uttarakhand, has been arrested, police said on Monday. Nautiyal, who was serving as the personal assistant to the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee chairman, was suspended after a preliminary internal enquiry found alleged irregularities in the handling of donations at Badrinath Dham.

The Uttarakhand Police said Nautiyal was arrested from his residence on Sunday night by the Chamoli Police and taken to Badrinath, where he is being questioned. Senior Superintendent of Police, Chamoli, Surjit Singh Panwar, said Nautiyal is a suspended employee of the Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee.

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Earlier, the police had said CCTV footage allegedly showed Nautiyal suspiciously hiding or stealing cash, gold and silver coins, shaligram stones and offering envelopes from the temple's donation counting room. An FIR was lodged late on Tuesday night against Nautiyal, police said.

The BKTC's four-member inquiry committee found the allegations of irregularities in donation management against Nautiyal to be prima facie true. The issue came to light after allegations related to the counting of donations at the Badrinath temple surfaced on social media. An organisation named Bhairav Sena then lodged a complaint and demanded an inquiry and the registration of an FIR.

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The case centres on the alleged misappropriation of offerings made by devotees at Badrinath Dham. According to reports, an internal inquiry found irregularities during the counting of thali offerings on July 2, 2026. The findings led to the filing of a First Information Report, after which the investigation was expanded. Authorities have alleged that cash and offerings were taken from the temple's donation-counting area. Early reports described the case as involving the alleged theft or embezzlement of devotees' donations and valuables.

The complaint first led to a departmental inquiry before police initiated criminal proceedings. The investigation has now moved beyond the internal inquiry conducted by the temple authorities and is being handled by the police and the Special Investigation Team. Before his arrest, Nautiyal had reportedly challenged both the FIR and his suspension before the High Court.

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The Uttarakhand government had also constituted its own three-member probe committee last week. The Garhwal division commissioner is the chairperson of the committee, which will submit its findings and recommendations to the state government. The BKTC is a statutory body that manages the Badrinath temple and other shrines in Uttarakhand.

The SIT has said the investigation is continuing and that action may be taken against other individuals if evidence establishes their involvement. With Nautiyal now in custody and being questioned in Badrinath, the case has moved from a temple-level inquiry to a wider police investigation into the alleged donation handling irregularities.