Jaipur, July 14 -- An enquiry by the Nagaur district administration has uncovered irregularities worth nearly Rs.22 crore in the handling of donations at the Shri Chaturdas Ji Maharaj Temple at Butati Dham, officials said on Monday. Located about 50 km from the Nagaur district headquarters, Butati Dham attracts thousands of devotees from across the country, particularly people who believe the shrine has healing powers for paralysis. Allegations of financial mismanagement had been raised by local residents since last year, leading to prolonged protests demanding an independent investigation. Acting on these demands, officials said the Nagaur district collector constituted a 13-member committee, headed by Degana Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Mohan Chaudhary, on January 29. The committee examined cash books, ledgers, bank statements, vouchers, audit reports and other financial records before submitting its report to the district collector on June 23. According to the inquiry, several transactions lacked supporting documents, multiple entries could not be reconciled and significant discrepancies remained unexplained despite the committee giving the temple management seven days to furnish clarifications. The report submitted by the committee, headed by the Degana Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), accessed by HT, states that one of the most serious findings relates to donations received in the form of gold and silver. The report states that these valuables were not properly recorded as income or assets in the temple's financial records. It noted that while the previous committee had documented 36 kg of silver and 250 grams of gold, the succeeding committee recovered 35.5 kg of silver and 280 grams of gold worth around Rs.2.61 crore. However, these assets were allegedly absent from stock registers and accounting records, making it impossible to verify whether all donated valuables had been properly accounted for. The inquiry also questioned construction expenditure of Rs.49.49 lakh shown for the temple canteen during 2023-24 and 2024-25. Investigators found that the ground floor of the building had actually been constructed by a donor at his own expense, yet the temple committee allegedly booked the work as its own expenditure and withdrew money from temple funds. Financial records examined by the committee further showed a sharp jump in kitchen expenses from Rs.26.99 lakh in 2023-24 to Rs.90.64 lakh in 2024-25. Investigators said no stock registers or supporting records were produced to justify expenditure exceeding Rs.1.17 crore over the two years. Similarly, Rs.31.37 lakh booked under "Village Development" was found to have no supporting bills, work orders, contractor details or completion certificates. Physical verification also failed to establish that any such development work had been carried out. The committee further alleged that rental income from the Sulabh Complex, amounting to Rs.18.12 lakh during 2024-25, was omitted from the books despite similar income being recorded in previous years. It also flagged suppression of income from ATM rentals, scrap sales and other cash receipts. The report also highlighted irregularities in security service payments worth Rs.31.33 lakh, for which no contracts, attendance records, invoices or work completion documents were produced. Bank statements further showed that one security service provider received salary payments 13 times during a 12-month financial year, suggesting excess or duplicate payments. Another Rs.17.87 lakh shown as expenditure on gaushala maintenance was found to be unsupported after the concerned gaushala committee confirmed in writing that it had received no payment from the temple during the period. Based on these and other findings, the SDM has recommended criminal proceedings against 11 former committee members and also suggested that authorities consider attachment of their personal properties during the investigation. Temple committee chairman Devendra Singh denied the allegations, saying the management had cooperated with the inquiry and would provide any documents sought by the administration. SDM Mohan Chaudhary said the inquiry was conducted strictly based on financial records and documentary evidence....