4 served notices in Badrinath temple offerings probe

Dehradun: Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) has issued show-cause notices to four persons, including an office bearer, and “relieved the key accused of all major responsibilities pending inquiry” as part of its probe into alleged financial irregularities in handling of offerings at the temple.

They have been given three days time to reply to the notice, a BKTC official privy to the matter said Monday.To investigate the matter, BKTC has constituted a four-member high-level committee, which has been tasked to carry out the probe based on CCTV footage, statements of the concerned persons and other available evidence. BKTC chairman Hemant Dwivedi has directed the panel to complete the inquiry and submit its report within a week.The accused office bearer, who is currently on leave, has been removed from the protocol management and ‘thali-bhent’ (donation and counting) duties to ensure a transparent and fair probe, said the BKTC official. The three others have not been relieved from their duties as yet.The accused was earlier posted at BKTC’s Dehradun office and transferred to Badrinath Dham a few months ago. Besides the protocol management and the counting of temple offerings, the accused was also serving as the nodal officer for protocol arrangement.

Notably, five persons are engaged in the protocol management, while six are responsible for counting donations and offerings.BKTC spokesperson Harish Gaur told TOI: “The committee tasked with investigation has served show-cause notices to a total of four persons in connection with the case, seeking their explanations.”Bhairav Sena, a social organisation based in Uttarakhand, had some days ago alleged theft of offerings at the Badrinath temple -- similar to that of “embezzlement of donations” in Ayodhya. The allegations prompted BKTC to order a detailed probe.