A key accused in the alleged Badrinath temple donation irregularities has been arrested by the Uttarakhand Police from his residence in Dehradun, officials said on Monday.
Pramod Nautiyal was taken into custody by the Chamoli Police on Sunday night and brought to Badrinath, where he is being questioned, Chamoli Senior Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh Panwar said.
Nautiyal is a suspended employee of the Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC).
An FIR was lodged late Tuesday night against Nautiyal, who served as the Personal Assistant to the BKTC chairman, police said.
The BKTC's four-member inquiry committee had found the allegations of irregularities in donation management against Nautiyal to be prima facie true.
The BKTC is a statutory body which manages the Badrinath temple and other shrines in Uttarakhand.
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 issue gained attention after allegations of irregularities during the counting of donations at the Badrinath temple surfaced on social media. Subsequently, an organisation named 'Bhairav Sena' lodged a complaint, demanding an inquiry and the registration of an FIR in the matter.
(With inputs from PTI)