Pune Police constables Dinesh and Tarkeshwari Rathod, who had claimed to have scaled Mount Everest last year, have been dismissed from service, PTI reported on Tuesday. The couple had been suspended last November after reports emerged that they had fabricated photographs to falsely claim that they had climbed the Everest on May 23, 2016.
The couple “brought disrepute to the Maharashtra police department and did not report to duty,” Additional Commissioner of Police Sahebrao Patil told PTI. The constables were dismissed based on an inquiry report. They were served a show-cause notice asking them for an explanation about their summit claims in May.
The Rathods, both posted with the Shivajinagar police in Pune, had claimed that they were the first couple to scale the mountain. Once questions were raised about their claims, the Nepal government also held an inquiry. It has now banned the couple from climbing any peak in the country for the next 10 years.
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