India, July 13 -- Uttarakhand Police have arrested Pramod Nautiyal, a suspended employee of the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC), in connection with the alleged theft and misappropriation of donations at the revered Badrinath Dham temple. The arrest marks the first major breakthrough in the ongoing investigation.

Nautiyal, who worked as a personal assistant in the office of the BKTC chairman, was taken into custody by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) after an internal inquiry flagged alleged irregularities in the handling of temple offerings. He was reportedly arrested after being questioned by investigators and will be produced before a court.

The case came to light after discrepancies were detected during the counting o...