Chamoli (Uttarakhand) [India], July 15 : In a significant development in the investigation into the Badrinath Temple donation theft, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has seized key digital evidence from the temple premises.
Speaking to ANI, SIT Officer Mahadev Uniyal confirmed that the police have taken control of the surveillance records to identify irregularities in the handling of temple offerings.
"We have taken into possession an NVR (Network Video Recorder) from the CCTV control room within the temple complex. It contains full CCTV footage from June 22nd and June 25th. We have seized this," Uniyal said.
The officer further revealed that certain crucial recordings appeared to have been tampered with or removed.
"Additionally, the footage regarding the previous cash counting sessions that has been deleted will be sent to the FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory) for recovery," he added.
When asked about the involvement of other individuals in the scam, the SIT officer indicated that the net is widening.
"Some suspicious individuals have been spotted, regarding which a deep investigation is currently underway," Uniyal confirmed.
Earlier on July 14, a committee constituted to examine the alleged theft of donations at the Badrinath Temple visited Badrinath Dham and reviewed the process of how donations are handled and transported and arrangements within the counting room.
Speaking to ANI, Managing Director (MD) of the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN), Sandeep Tiwari, said, "Today, we visited Badrinath Dham under the chairmanship of the Commissioner to inspect the entire process, specifically, how donations are handled, how the donation boxes are transported to the counting room, the arrangements within the counting room, the CCTV setup, the staff involved in the counting, and the timing of the bank officials' arrival. We have reviewed this entire procedure as well as past CCTV recordings.
"We have also examined the details regarding the arrested accused. Since this was our first visit to observe the process, the investigation will continue; we will record statements from the complainant and provide an opportunity for members of the public to share any information they might have. We are also authorised to seek expert opinions, such as from forensic experts or the cyber cell, if necessary," he added.
Meanwhile, the SIT probing the Badrinath donation theft case questioned the Temple Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sohan Singh Rangad and his Personal Assistant, Atul Dimri, to probe gaps in oversight. Simultaneously, investigators embedded themselves in the temple's CCTV control room, systematically reviewing operational logs and tracking how daily donations were handled.