Dehradun, Aug. 11 -- Special investigation team (SIT) of Chamoli police probing the alleged theft of donations at Badrinath Dham flagged major security loopholes in the temple's donation-counting process, including allowing pilgrims to volunteer for counting without any background verification, officials said on Monday. Mahadev Uniyal, a member of the SIT and in-charge of Badrinath police station, said the temple committee currently allows people to volunteer for the counting process after taking their names and mobile numbers, with security largely dependent on CCTV surveillance. "Anybody can volunteer, including pilgrims. Up to 20 pilgrims are allowed at a time. There is no background verification, so a person with criminal intent could also exploit the system. We will suggest that the temple administration change this system," Uniyal said. The SIT's findings come as investigators have arrested a third accused in the case and found that he 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. Nautiyal was responsible for supervising the counting of donations at the temple. The third accused, Manoj Kumar, was arrested on Friday. During questioning, Kumar told investigators that he had entered the counting room with the permission of Nautiyal and Chauhan, but claimed that the two were unaware of his involvement in the alleged 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, acting as a liaison officer for the company, was allegedly caught on CCTV repeatedly removing donated items from the temple's counting room. Investigators examined footage from June 25 and June 29. "He was seen in the footage stealing the items while trying to avoid being noticed by the other accused," Uniyal said. Police said Kumar had been deputed at Badrinath Dham by the hydropower company to escort VIP guests and relatives of senior officials for darshan at the temple. During questioning, Kumar allegedly 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, police said. Police said part of the proceeds from the sale were recovered, while the remaining money 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 and Rs.6,000 allegedly generated from the sale of stolen items. Investigators also recovered the bedsheet on which Kumar had photographed the stolen articles, police said. The SIT also recovered deleted photographs of the stolen items from the recycle bin of Kumar's mobile phone, Uniyal said. An FIR was registered on July 8 after the Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee complained of financial irregularities during the counting of donations....