![Satyarup Sidhantha Satyarup Sidhantha](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ap_16186542671981.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
Nepal on Tuesday issued a 10-year ban on an Indian couple, after their claim that they successfully scaled Mount Everest — and the photos they shared showing them at the summit — were debunked by an investigation.
The Nepal Tourism Board also revoked the certificates bestowed on Dinesh and Tarakeshwari Rathod for the climb they claim to have completed on May 23 this year, the Kathmandu Post reported.
The duo, both police constables from the western Indian city of Pune, made headlines as the first Indian couple to ascend the world’s tallest mountain together. However, several other mountaineers alleged that the photographs they shared of themselves at the top were doctored, and another Indian climber from Bangalore named Satyarup Sidhanta said the original images were his.
The head of the adventure company that organized the Rathods’ trip, meanwhile, insisted that their achievement was genuine and that there was “some politics going on” that prompted the ban.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Breaking Down the 2024 Election Calendar
- How Nayib Bukele’s ‘Iron Fist’ Has Transformed El Salvador
- What if Ultra-Processed Foods Aren’t as Bad as You Think?
- How Ukraine Beat Russia in the Battle of the Black Sea
- Long COVID Looks Different in Kids
- How Project 2025 Would Jeopardize Americans’ Health
- What a $129 Frying Pan Says About America’s Eating Habits
- The 32 Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2024
Write to Rishi Iyengar at rishi.iyengar@timeasia.com