Dehradun, July 16 (IANS) Amid a row over the alleged embezzlement of management of offerings made at Badrinath temple in Chamoli district, the Shri Badarinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) has submitted its 18-page internal enquiry report to the Uttarakhand Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT), sources said on Thursday.
According to official sources privy of the matter, an internal review of CCTV footages of June 22 and 25 reportedly identified some suspicious individuals.
The Uttarakhand Police SIT may question the suspects today as part of the investigation.
Moreover, the SIT has also taken possession of the DVR containing CCTV footages of June 29 and July 2 for further examination.
A day earlier, BKTC Chief Executive Officer, Sohan Singh Rangad, said that the temple body’s treasurer has been transferred amid the alleged irregularities at the temple in Uttarakhand.
Speaking exclusively to IANS, Rangad said: “The Treasurer has not been removed; he has been transferred.”
“An investigation team had given us a report regarding certain things that were kept in the double-lock, specifically materials made of silver. There was a discrepancy between that material and the entry in the register — the amount recorded in the register was less, while the actual material found at the site was more. So, it is quite possible that this was a human error, especially because the quantity of the material was larger. Had it been less than what was recorded, I would have said that some of it had been taken out,” he said.
However, Rangad said that since the metals and ornaments recovered from the holy site were more than the entry made in the register, “it may have been overwritten”.
“Keeping in view the sensitive nature of the matter, the Treasurer has been transferred,” he stated.
The BKTC CEO also denied allegations that laptops and an ambulance that were received as donations had gone missing. saying: “We have three ambulances, out of which one was declared ‘without purpose’ and auctioned in 2016 following due process. The second was formally handed over to CMO Rudraprayag and the third one is in Ukhimath (town).”
“The laptops that were received as donations were distributed among the employees. After conducting a probe, we found that those are still with the employees,” he added.
–IANS
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