Nepal bans two Indian climbers, their team leader for faking Mt Everest summit
A Nepalese investigation found that Indian climbers Narender Singh Yadav and Seema Rani Goswami had never climbed to the top of Mt Everest.
File image of Mt Everest | Photo Credit: AP
Kathmandu: The Government of Nepal has imposed a ban on two Indian climbers as they had faked their 2016 Mount Everest climbs. While revoking the duo’s Mt Everest summit certificates yesterday, Kathmandu announced that the climbers cannot undertake any mountaineering activity in the Himalayan nation for six years.
Nepal also imposed a similar ban on the two climbers’ team leader, Naba Kumar Phukon. The Indian climbers were identified as Narender Singh Yadav and Seema Rani Goswami.
The duo had claimed to have reached the summit of the world's highest mountain in the 2016 spring season. Later, Nepal's tourism department had issued certificates to them approving their climb.
However, when Yadav was nominated for the prestigious Tenzing Norgay Adventure Award last year, Indian mountaineers protested and a probe was subsequently launched.
The investigation found that the duo had never climbed to the top of the mountain.
Nepalese Tourism Ministry spokesman Tara Nath Adhikari was quoted as saying by news agency AFP that both Yadav and Goswami had never climbed Mt Everest summit and this was confirmed during investigation and enquiries with other climbers.
"They couldn't produce any evidence of their ascent to the peak... they even failed to submit reliable photos of them at the summit," Adhikari said.
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The three have been barred from climbing any mountain in Nepal for six years, with the ban coming into effect retrospectively from May 2016.
Nepal has also acted against the organisers of the 2016 expedition, Seven Summit Treks. While the company has been fined Rs 50,000, the Sherpa who assisted the claimed climb will have to pay a fine of Rs 10,000.
It may be recalled that the same year, another Indian police couple were penalised and barred for 10 years for faking Everest summit climb. The duo had produced faked photographs to show them at the summit of Mt Everest.