Dehradun, Aug. 10 -- The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Chamoli Police has found that the third accused arrested in the Badrinath temple donation theft case was allowed into the temple's donation counting room with the permission of the two other accused - suspended Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) personal assistant Pramod Nautiyal and retired temple officer Rajendra Chauhan, police said on Sunday. Nautiyal was responsible for supervising the counting of donations at the temple. Badrinath Station House Officer Mahadev Uniyal, who is part of the SIT, said the third accused, identified as Manoj Kumar, was arrested on Friday. During questioning, Kumar told investigators that he was allowed into the counting room with the permission of Nautiyal and Chauhan, but claimed the two were unaware of his involvement in the theft. "He told us that the two accused were not aware of his involvement in the theft and that he was acting independently," Uniyal said. Kumar, a security guard posted at the Lambagad barrage of JP Power Ventures Limited near Joshimath, was allegedly caught on CCTV repeatedly removing donated items from the temple's counting room. The footage was examined for June 25 and June 29. "He was seen in the footage stealing the items while trying to avoid being noticed by the other accused," he said. Police said Kumar was deputed at the Dham by the hydropower company to escort VIP guests and relatives of senior officials for darshan at the temple. "During questioning, the accused confessed to stealing articles from the offerings. He told investigators that some of the stolen items were kept in his room at Lambagad, while others were sold to pilgrims," he said. Police said part of the proceeds from the sale were recovered, while the remaining amount was spent on hospitality for company guests. During a search of Kumar's accommodation, the SIT recovered silver ornaments, earrings, a nose ring, coins, a small idol, bracelets, a decorative metal object, Rs.6,000 in cash allegedly generated from the sale of stolen items, and the bedsheet on which he had photographed the stolen articles, police said. Investigators also recovered deleted photographs of the stolen items from the recycle bin of Kumar's mobile phone, Uniyal said. An FIR in connection with the matter was registered on July 8 after the Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee complained of financial irregularities during the counting of donations. The Badrinath donation theft controversy emerged after irregularities were detected while devotees' offerings were being counted on July 2. A preliminary inquiry found money had been removed from the counting room without following prescribed procedure. Police arrested suspended BKTC employee Pramod Nautiyal and retired temple officer Rajendra Chauhan, alleging their involvement in incidents. Investigators examined CCTV footage, call records and witness statements, while seeking three years of donation records to determine whether others were involved. The case is being pursued by the police SIT, a BKTC departmental panel and a Uttarakhand committee. Proposed safeguards include pocketless clothing, frisking and cameras...