An Indian couple who claimed to have climbed Mount Everest have been fired from their jobs after it was discovered their tale of glory was a fraud.
Former constables Dinesh and Tarkeshwari Rathod announced in June 2016 that they were the first Indian police couple to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
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Makalu Adventure, the climbing company behind the trip, also reportedly backed the couple’s claim as the pair were also issued certificates from Napalese authorities.
But the tale soon began to unravel as fellow climbers including Satyarup Siddhanta began to refute their story.
Siddhanta says the couple photoshopped themselves into photos of him climbing the mountain.
Nepal’s government canceled the climbing certificates issued to the Rathods before the pair were suspended from their day jobs.
They were eventually asked to appear at show-cause hearing to explain why they shouldn’t be fired.
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The couple has stayed away from work since the controversy erupted in May.
On Saturday, they were relieved of their duties by the Pune Police Department.
“The couple faked about the Everest ascent, morphed the photographs, shared misleading information and while doing this, brought disrepute to the Maharashtra police department and did not report to duty. Based on the inquiry, we dismissed the couple from the department and an order to this effect was issued on Saturday,” Sahebrao Patil, additional commissioner of police (admin) of Pune police, told the Hundutsan Times.
Pune is a city in the state of Maharashtra.
They have also been banned from Nepal for 10 years.
- With files from Associated Press