Ex-Badrinath temple officer Rajendra Chauhan arrested in donation theft case after SIT grilling

Badrinath Temple, Uttarakhand (PTI file photo)

NEW DELHI: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Friday arrested former Badrinath temple officer Rajendra Chauhan in connection with the alleged theft of donations from the Badrinath Temple. He was arrested after nearly four hours of questioning and will be produced before a court on Friday.Chauhan is among the key suspects in the case and was questioned based on CCTV footage collected during the investigation.The CCTV footage allegedly shows mandir official Chauhan collecting bundles of cash and putting them into his pocket on June 22, June 25 and June 29. Based on the footage, the SIT summoned him for questioning and is examining the video along with other evidence as part of its probe into the alleged theft of temple donation money.The arrest comes a day after the SIT received the 18-page internal inquiry report prepared by the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC), while fresh CCTV footage led investigators to identify more suspects in the case.According to Uttarakhand Police, the BKTC handed over its internal inquiry report to the SIT as part of the ongoing investigation into the alleged theft of temple donations.Police said the SIT has also identified more suspects after examining CCTV footage recorded on June 25 and June 29. Based on the footage, officials are set to question additional people in connection with the case.”More suspects are seen in the CCTV footage of June 25 and June 29, based on which the SIT will question more people in the case,” police added.The SIT has fully recovered CCTV footage from June 29 and July 2, which is being examined as part of the investigation. Earlier, investigators had analysed CCTV footage from June 22 and June 25.The investigation into the alleged theft of donations from the Badrinath Temple is continuing, with the SIT scrutinising CCTV footage and gathering evidence to identify those involved.On July 14, a committee constituted to examine the alleged theft visited Badrinath Dham and reviewed the process of handling and transporting donations, as well as arrangements inside the counting room.Meanwhile, the SIT also questioned Badrinath Temple chief executive officer (CEO) Sohan Singh Rangad and his personal assistant, Atul Dimri, to examine possible lapses in oversight. Investigators also reviewed operational logs from the temple’s CCTV control room to track how daily donations were handled.The scrutiny in Badrinath temple theft case came after huge uproar of Ayodhya Ram Mandir alleged donation theft case.