Two Indian Police Officers Suspended For Faking Picture Climbing Mount Everest

We have been discussing the trend of firings and discipline for public employees who say or do controversial things in their private lives. We have previously seen teachers, students and other public employees fired for their private speech or conduct, including school employees fired for posing in magazines, appearing on television shows in bikinis, or having a career in the adult entertainment industry. Now there is an interesting twist on this trend out of India where two police officers — Dinesh Rathod and Tarkeshwari Rathod — have been suspended after police determined that they had lied. No, not about a crime scene or investigation. They lied that they had scaled Mount Everest.

Nepal has canceled their climbing certificates after it was found that they has altered someone else’s photograph to secure their climbing certificates.

Of course, that is a bit more than bravado or the type of “stolen valor” type of cases that we have previously discussed. This was to secure a government document under false pretenses — a document designed to protect climbers.

Of course, the penalty might be that they have to climb Mount Everest. As a lifelong hiker and backpacker, I have never had the inclination or desire to climb Everest. It simply does not appeal to me to go to show an unforgiving and hostile place with its own “death zone.”

Is this something that you would want to do?