Indian couple Dinesh and Tarakeshwari Rathod have been accused of making a very, very, big lie; as big as the highest mountain in the world in fact.
The 30-year-old duo who are both constables claimed that they were the first Indian couple to make it to the top of Mount Everest. They were pictured proudly unravelling the banner of the Pune Police Force at the world’s highest peak. They received accolades of praise by the media in an emotional press conference.
There were several eyebrows raised on the story they gave and the time they released their news of triumph to the Hindi Media. The Rathods claimed to have reached the summit on 23rd May but only shared at the press conference on 5th June. Fishy or what?
Further, According to experienced climber of 22 years Surendra Shelke; although the Rathods were seen at the Everest base camp, no one had seem them higher up the mountain. They barely made the first acclimatisation rotation before the main push to the summit — the Khumbu icefall [at 5486 m]
The couple published some dodgy transposed images that had been previously used for Nepalese tour company Makalu Adventures. Shelke said, “In Tarkeshwari’s individual summit photo, the colour of her shoes are red-black whereas in their couple’s summit photo, the colour of her shoes are yellow-black,” Shelke said. “Even the brand of the shoes is different.
Have a look for yourself and see if you spot the similarities. The original picture features Satyarup Siddhanta from his legitimate own climb.
The photoshopped version is here…
#MaharashtraPolice feeling proud of Tarkeshwari and Dinesh Rathod for being the first Indian couple to climb Everest pic.twitter.com/ihJV1JltaN
— State Home Minister (@HomeMinOffice) June 7, 2016
They had a change of clothes in some of their pictures which Shelke says is impossible for mountaineers. Not only can you not change your clothes while on a peak, there is, you know, the ‘tiny’ problem of getting frostbite and fighting the harsh weather conditions and wind-chill factor. Also why would you do that anyway when you’re attempting to climb one of the most dangerous mountains in the world?
It’s been found that the constables aren’t unfamiliar to fabricating extravagant lies. They claimed to have completed the Aussie 10 challenge by climbing the 10 highest peaks in Australia. Another eye witness Anjali Kulkarni who was a co-team member with the couple has stepped out and said they barely climbed five peaks.
Anand Bansode (leader), Shrikant Chavan, Rupali Chavan, Sharad Kulkarni, Anjali Kulkarni and Manisha Waghmare are all eyewitnesses who had completed this ‘Aussie 10 Challenge’ successfully. They said they definitely didn’t complete it. Embarrassing much?
It seems the mountain of a lie was made to rival other Indian climbers who’d previously climbed it. The police constables knew fully well that they were committing a heinous crime. Now they’re the ones being investigated by police. Confusing or what? Not only has it ruined their reputation and gotten global backlash, there’s no way they will ever be able to return to their jobs as police constables.
You can watch the un-called for accolades of praise they received before the lie was exposed:
