Kathmandu – The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the Nepal Police has refuted news reports claiming that tourists in the Everest region were made ill by being fed poisonous substances to conduct ‘Fake Rescues.’ The Bureau has termed such reports broadcasted in national and international media as “misleading and baseless.”
In a statement issued by the Bureau’s spokesperson and Senior Superintendent of Police, Shiva Kumar Shrestha, it is stated: “In the course of the investigation so far, no facts have been found to suggest that toxic substances were adulterated in the tourists’ food.”
Over the past few few days, prestigious international media outlets—including The Times, Independent, and New York Post—had been publishing reports under headlines such as “Hima-liars.” These reports claimed that guides were mixing baking soda or other harmful substances into tourists’ food to induce artificial “altitude sickness” in order to claim insurance money.
However, the CIB clarified through its statement that these claims remain unproven.
The statement notes: “The Bureau’s serious attention has been drawn to reports claiming that guides in the Everest region intentionally sickened tourists by adulterating food with toxic substances to conduct fake rescues, linking it to the Bureau’s recent investigation into ‘FAKE RESCUE’ operations.”
The CIB also warned that publishing news in national and international media or on Facebook pages by citing unverified and misleading content is illegal. The Bureau has requested everyone not to publish or disseminate such baseless news.
Nevertheless, the CIB is conducting a detailed investigation into organized financial fraud, forgery of documents, and irregularities in insurance funds carried out under the guise of ‘fake rescues.’ A case has already been filed against 32 individuals in this matter.
The police issued the official rebuttal because foreign media had sensationalized the “inhumane” angle of poisoning tourists while ignoring the actual financial fraud aspect, thereby damaging the image of Nepal’s tourism industry.
