Kedarnath temple committee demands SIT probe into alleged gold plating scam

The committee met chief minister and submitted a memorandum asking the state government to set up an SIT to get to the bottom of the matter. The committee members said that the manner in which questions are being raised at the temple priest and committee members, is tarnishing the image of both the temple and the government.

Dehradun: Amid the controversy over allegations of a Rs 1.25 billion scam in gold plating the sanctum sanctorum of the Kedarnath temple, the temple committee has demanded an investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the matter. The committee has submitted a memorandum in this regard to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. Till now, Congress and other Opposition parties had been demanding a high-level inquiry into the matter.

Once the investigations begin, questions would be asked to Kedarnath temple committee chairman Ajendra Ajay, who has so long maintained his silence on the issue. In the memorandum to Dhami, the temple committee members wrote that the allegations of corruption and irregularities is not only tarnishing the Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines but also hampering the image of the state government.

"In such a situation, it is very important to conduct an SIT investigation into this entire matter," the members of the temple committee wrote to Dhami. They said that although people are silent on the issue, questions are being repeatedly raised at the temple committee members, priests and people associated with the temple. In such a situation, the state government should get this matter investigated as soon as possible, they said.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is currently in Kedarnath Dham may raise this issue during his ongoing tour. Before the matter is raked up again, the temple committee members want an investigation to make things clear.

Ajay could not be contacted for his comments. Ashutosh Dimri, a committee member said that they want the truth to be revealed. "We have met the Chief Minister and written a letter asking him to set up an SIT for a thorough probe to get to the bottom of the matter. We hope that the state government will conduct an investigation into matter very soon," he said.

In October 2022, the work of gold-plating the walls of the sanctum sanctorum of Kedarnath temple was completed. It was told that a businessman from Mumbai donated 23 kg of gold to the temple committee. After this, the walls and ceiling of Kedarnath temple were coated with 550 gold plates. The entire work was done under the supervision of two officers of the Archaeological Survey of India.

Shortly after the work was completed, Chardham Mahapanchayat Vice President Santosh Trivedi alleged that 23.78 kg of donated gold had been stolen and it was a scam of about Rs 1.25 billion. Trivedi had demanded an investigation into it and Congress joined in echoing the same.

Amid the rising controversy, the Secretary of Culture and Religious Affairs Harichandra Semwal formed a high-level probe committee headed by the Garhwal commissioner to investigate into the matter.