Maharashtra police couple removed from service for fake claim of Everest climbing

The Maharashtra police have removed Dinesh and Tarakeshwari Rathod, the Maharashtra police couple who were hitherto under suspension, from the service. The couple have been facing a 10-year ban by the Nepal government for falsifying claims of their ascent on the Mount Everest.

Making an announcement to this effect, Additional Commissioner Sahibrio Patil said that a special panel enquired into the issue and found that the police couple cheated by claiming their ascent to the Mount Everest with morphed photos.

On June 5, 2016, the Rathods, both aged 30, had jubilantly announced their achievement at a press conference where they touted that they were the first Indian couple and the first security personnel couple to conquer the Everest on May 23, 2016, thereby setting a record of sorts.

It was alleged that no one seemed to have seen the duo beyond base camp nor had they completed the gruelling preliminary necessary for the climb.

In this wake, the Nepal government had ordered a thorough investigation to check the veracity of the claims made by the Rathods in face of mounting clamour by fellow mountaineers that the duo had faked their ascent to the top of the summit. The Pune Police, too, in tandem had conducted a probe and had recorded statements of the couple and their fellow mountaineers.

In late August 2016, the Nepal government finally announced a ban on the duo for making phoney claims and submitting doctored photos. It had further barred the duo from entering the country and conducting further expeditions there.

By SREE KUMAR