Two More Arrested in Mountaineering ‘Fake Rescue’ Scam

Two more individuals have been arrested in connection with the mountaineering “fake rescue” case. The Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police arrested 28-year-old Sandeep Tiwari, a representative of Royal Holidays Adventure and Travel Company based in Thamel, and 56-year-old Rajendra Bahadur Singh, former vice president of the Airline Operators Association of Nepal.

Singh, a resident of Kathmandu Metropolitan City–31, was arrested on Wednesday, while Tiwari, originally from Jwalamukhi Rural Municipality–2 in Dhading, was arrested on Tuesday.

According to Bureau spokesperson Shiv Kumar Shrestha, a total of nine people have so far been arrested in connection with the case. Those detained include individuals associated with trekking companies, rescue companies, hospitals, Nepal-based employees of foreign insurance firms, and shareholder-operators of helicopter companies.

Investigations have revealed that the accused allegedly staged rescue operations of foreign trekkers in high Himalayan regions, falsely claiming medical emergencies in order to collect insurance payouts and obtain illegal financial benefits.