DEHRADUN: A special investigation team (SIT) of Chamoli Police has arrested suspended Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) employee Pramod Nautiyal over the alleged theft of cash and valuables donated by pilgrims at the Badrinath shrine, police said on Monday.
Nautiyal was detained from his Dehradun residence late on Sunday by a plainclothes police team and taken to Chamoli for questioning. He will be produced before a court in accordance with legal procedure, officials said.
Chamoli Superintendent of Police Surjeet Singh Panwar said the arrest followed an examination of CCTV footage, witness statements and other evidence.
“The investigation is impartial and thorough. Strict action will continue against anyone who plays with the faith of devotees, and no guilty person will be spared,” he said.
The case was registered at Badrinath police station on July 8, 2026, under Sections 306 and 316(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, following a complaint by acting temple officer Yudhveer Pushpwan. The complaint came after alleged irregularities were detected during the counting of offerings on July 2.
A preliminary departmental inquiry alleged that Nautiyal had secretly taken cash and other offerings into his possession. Given the seriousness of the accusation, Panwar constituted the SIT under the supervision of Circle Officer Madan Singh Bisht.
Investigators inspected the counting room, questioned employees and witnesses, and reviewed the surveillance recording in detail. Police claimed the footage showed Nautiyal repeatedly concealing money and other offerings beneath his mobile phone or placing them in his pocket before leaving the room.
Police said items allegedly taken at different times included Rs 500 notes, packets containing gold and silver coins, a Shaligram stone and packets of saffron.
The SIT is also scrutinising committee documents, registers and related records. Officers said other people could come under the scanner and further arrests would depend on the evidence gathered during the investigation.
Before his arrest, Nautiyal had approached the Uttarakhand High Court in Nainital, challenging both his suspension and the first information report, and seeking protection from arrest. The court had sought the BKTC’s response. His petition was listed before Justice Alok Mehra for hearing on July 16, but the SIT arrested him before the scheduled proceedings.
The allegations were first raised publicly by Bhairav Sena founder Sandeep Khatri, who claimed that donations and offerings made by pilgrims were being stolen. The disclosure triggered political controversy across Uttarakhand and led to demands for an independent investigation.
As the row intensified, BKTC chairman Hemant Dwivedi formed a four-member inquiry panel. The state government subsequently constituted a separate three-member high-level committee.
The arrest marks the first police action in the case, which has drawn attention because Badrinath is one of Hinduism’s most revered pilgrimage centres and receives offerings from devotees across India.
