Chamoli (Uttarakhand), July 15 (IANS) Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee's (BKTC) Chief Executive Officer Sohan Singh Rangad on Wednesday said that the temple body's treasurer has been transferred amid alleged irregularities in the management of donations at the Badrinath Temple in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district.

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.

Meanwhile, the departmental inquiry team constituted to investigate the alleged misappropriation of donations at the Shri Badrinath Dham has completed its probe and submitted the report to the CEO.

According to the investigation, the preliminary findings purportedly suggest that the theft of devotees' offerings and valuables took place not just once, but on multiple occasions. According to sources, the four-member inquiry team has detailed the entire incident and the findings of their investigation in an 18-page report.

The Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) had taken major action on July 7 to uphold discipline and administrative transparency. Pramod Nautiyal, a personal assistant posted in the Chairman's office, was suspended with immediate effect.

--IANS

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