Nepal says Indian couple faked Everest pictures

An Indian couple faked photographs of themselves at the top of Mount Everest to get their feat certified by Kathmandu, Nepal said on Wednesday.

An Indian couple faked photographs of themselves at the top of Mount Everest to get their feat certified by Kathmandu, Nepal said on Wednesday.

Pune residents Dinesh Rathod and wife Tarakeshwari, both police constables, grabbed headlines in May after they claimed to have climbed Mount Everest, the first Indian couple to accomplish the feat. (Facebook)

Dinesh and Tarakeshwari Rathod, both police constables, said they reached the top of the world’s highest mountain on May 23, but fellow climbers cast doubt on their claim, saying their photos at the summit were doctored.

Nepal’s tourism department initially certified the couple’s climb after speaking to their expedition organisers and government officials stationed at Everest base camp.

However, following the allegations, which gained speed online after climbers pointed out that the clothes they were wearing in different photos did not match, Kathmandu launched a probe.

Read: Kolkata climbers claim Pune couple photoshopped Everest summit pics

“The expedition agency has confirmed that the photos submitted to the department were morphed by the Indian couple in order to get the certificate,” Nepal tourism official Gyanendra Kumar Shrestha told AFP.

“The investigation is under way and the investigating committee is likely to unveil its report soon... and recommend punishment to those involved in the fraud,” said Shrestha.

It is not technically an offence to pretend to summit Everest.