Who Is Pramod Nautiyal? Former BKTC Official Arrested from Dehradun In Badrinath Donation Case

Pramod Nautiyal, a former personal assistant to the chairman of the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC), has been arrested from Dehradun in connection with an investigation into alleged irregularities in the handling of donations at the Badrinath temple in Uttarakhand.

According to Uttarakhand Police, Nautiyal was arrested from his residence in Dehradun on Sunday night by Chamoli Police and brought to Badrinath for questioning. Chamoli Senior Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh Panwar confirmed the arrest, PTI reported.

The allegations against Nautiyal emerged after discrepancies were reportedly noticed during the handling of offerings received at Badrinath Dham. Following a preliminary internal inquiry, the BKTC suspended him from his position.

A four-member committee constituted by the temple body examined the allegations and reportedly found them to be prima facie valid. Nautiyal has, however, challenged his suspension and the FIR registered against him in the Uttarakhand High Court. The matter is scheduled to come up for hearing on July 17.

CCTV Footage Forms Part Of Police Probe

The police investigation is focused on CCTV footage from the temple's donation counting room. Officials have claimed that the footage allegedly shows Nautiyal entering and leaving the room several times and handling items such as cash, gold and silver coins, shaligram stones and offering envelopes.

Investigators have alleged that certain items were removed from the counting room without following the prescribed process. Police have also claimed that the footage showed bundles of ₹500 and ₹100 currency notes, along with other offerings, being taken away.

According to police, some of the offering envelopes were suspected to contain amounts ranging between ₹10,000 and ₹12,000. These claims are part of the ongoing investigation.

The case came to light on July 2 after police reportedly found discrepancies during the counting of offerings made by devotees at Badrinath temple.

A preliminary inquiry was initiated to examine the process followed for handling donations. Subsequently, the Uttarakhand government formed a three-member committee headed by the Garhwal division commissioner to investigate the matter and submit its findings.

The case is currently being examined by Chamoli Police, the Special Investigation Team (SIT), the BKTC's departmental inquiry committee and the government-appointed panel.

The issue has also triggered political reactions, with the Congress criticising the BJP-led state government after allegations surfaced in the Badrinath donation case. The party had earlier raised concerns over similar allegations related to temple offerings at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.