Image copyright AP Image caption Indian climber Satyarup Sidhantha says a photo of him on Everest (left) was doctored by Dinesh and Tarakeshwari Rathod to make it appear that they too had appeared at the summit 
 
 Nepal has imposed a 10-year mountaineering ban on two climbers who claimed to be the first Indian couple to have climbed Everest, officials say. A government investigation concluded on Monday that photographs purporting to show the pair at the top of the world's highest mountain were faked. They argued that photos showing Dinesh and Tarakeshwari Rathod at the summit were obviously doctored. Tourism department chief Sudarshan Prasad Dhakal told the AFP news agency that an analysis of photos submitted by Mr and Mrs Rathod revealed they had superimposed themselves and their banners on photos taken by another Indian climber who conquered Everest. "Despite several attempts to get clarifications from them, they did not co-operate with us during the investigation. “The ban should serve as a warning for other mountaineers to follow ethics,” he said. A total of 456 people, including more than 250 foreigners, summited the world’s highest peak during this year’s spring season, after two consecutive years of deadly disasters that halted the climbing mounted mountains.
– A total of 456 people reached the peak of Mount Everest during this past spring climbing season. PTI reports Dinesh and Tarakeshwari Rathod were not among them. The Indian police officers, who claimed to have been the first Indian couple to climb Everest, were banned from climbing any mountain in Nepal for 10 years Tuesday after authorities ruled they made the whole thing up, according to the Guardian. The Rathods claimed to have reached the top of Everest on May 23, producing photos as evidence. Nepalese authorities verified their accomplishment based on those photos, but later rescinded that verification after complaints from other climbers. One of those climbers was Satyarup Siddhanta, an Indian man who actually did reach the summit in May and whose photos from the peak the Rathods apparently superimposed themselves over. The BBC reports other signs of fakery included the Rathods getting from base camp to the summit too quickly and appearing in two different outfits in photos from the summit. “The ban should serve as a warning for other mountaineers to follow ethics,” Nepal's chief of tourism tells PTI. It's unclear why the Rathods claimed to have conquered Everest, as no one is quite sure where they or their two sherpas are. But the BBC points out people who make Everest's summit can get good work writing or speaking about their accomplishment. (A climber abandoned the Everest peak to save a stranger.)