Probe ordered into boards bearing QR codes for donations put up outside Badrinath-Kedarnath

Boards displaying QR codes seeking donations from pilgrims were put up outside the gates of Badrinath and Kedarnath without the knowledge of the authorities, officials said on Tuesday.

Cases under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code were registered against unidentified accused on Monday at Badrinath police station and Kedarnath police outpost for putting up the QR code boards outside the temples and a probe was ordered into it, Superintendent of Police (Chamoli) Pramendra Dobhal said.

Ajendra Ajay, chairman of the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee, said the cases were registered on the basis of its complaint. The boards were removed on April 25 and 27, the day Kedarnath and Badrinath, respectively, opened to the devotees, he said.

The QR codes were put up without the committee’s permission and were removed immediately after it was brought to its notice on the day the temples opened. The temple committee does not use the Unified Payments Interface mode for financial transactions, Ajay said.