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An Indian Couple Has Been Banned From Everest for 10 Years After They Lied About Climbing It

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Satyarup Sidhantha
Indian climber Satyarup Sidhantha shows photographs in Kolkata on July 4, 2016: on his right hand is a photograph of him on Mount Everest and on the other is what he says an altered version of the same image used by an Indian couple to make it appear they were on the summitBikas Das—AP
By Rishi Iyengar

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.

[Kathmandu Post]

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Write to Rishi Iyengar at rishi.iyengar@timeasia.com