By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
Dehradun: An FIR has been registered against a suspended employee of the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) over alleged irregularities in the handling of offerings and donations at the Badrinath shrine, even as Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday described the alleged embezzlement as a “grave sin” and warned that those responsible would face strong action.
Police said the case was registered late Tuesday night against Pramod Nautiyal, who was posted as the personal assistant in the office of the BKTC chairman after his name came in the preliminary investigation in the alleged irregularities which initially surfaced on social media on July 2.
According to the complaint lodged by the BKTC at the Badrinath police station, the committee’s initial findings prima facie established that Nautiyal had removed cash from the offering counting centre surreptitiously.
Taking serious note of the allegations, the state government has constituted a three-member high-level committee headed by Garhwal Commissioner Anand Swaroop to conduct a detailed probe into the alleged irregularities. The committee has been asked to submit its report and recommendations within 15 days. Tourism Secretary Dheeraj Singh Garbyal issued the order constituting the panel.
Speaking to reporters in Haridwar, Chief Minister Dhami said no guilty person would be spared after the investigation. Calling the alleged misappropriation of temple offerings “a sin akin to cow slaughter”, he said such acts at a sacred place were “unpardonable” and that the law would take its course. He added that the high-level panel would also suggest measures to strengthen the management and transparency of temple administration.
The issue has triggered a political row, with Uttarakhand Congress president Ganesh Godiyal demanding either a judicial inquiry or a probe by a Joint Committee of the Assembly into the alleged irregularities.