Badrinath temple theft: CCTV shows employee hiding cash, gold coins

A Special Investigation Team recorded statements of five witnesses and recovered CCTV footage as it intensified its probe into the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Badrinath Dham temple, the Uttarakhand Police said on Sunday.

The Temple Committee will submit the bank records of the last three years on July 12, the police told ANI. The CCTV footage from July 2, 2026 was recovered, in which the accused can be seen collecting cash suspiciously.

Uttarakhand Police claimed the footage showed suspended Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee employee Pramod Nautiyal hiding or stealing cash, gold and silver coins, shaligram stones and offering envelopes from the temple's donation counting room. The accused made repeated trips between the counting room and his office, leading investigators to suspect the stolen items were being concealed there.

"The accused, Pramod Nautiyal, is seen suspiciously hiding or stealing bundles of ₹500 and ₹100 notes, along with gold and silver coins, shaligram stones, and envelopes of offerings estimated to contain ₹10,000 to ₹12,000," the police said on Saturday.

"While doing so, he is seen going back and forth between his office and the counting room two to three times. The police suspect that after stealing money, gold and silver coins from the counting room, he would store them in his office. This sequence was observed in the CCTV footage from July 2," police were quoted by ANI as saying.