Rafiq Shaikh, who recently scaled the Mount Everest, becoming the first policeman from Maharashtra to achieve the feat, has been shifted to a hospital in New Delhi from Kathmandu, where he received his initial treatment after he suffered frostbite.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on receiving information that the police naik was suffering from frostbite, immediately gave directions to shift him to Army's Research and Referral Hospital at New Delhi from Nepal.
"On knowing that Police Naik Rafiq Shaikh who scaled Mt Everest, is suffering from a frostbite, CM @Dev_Fadnavis immediately gave directions to shift him to Army's Research & Referral Hospital at New Delhi from Kathmandu," Fadnavis tweeted.
"Rafiq was immediately shifted to New Delhi hospital in no time and is now recovering," he said in another tweet.
Fadnavis spoke to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today and requested for best possible treatment to Shaikh.
He also spoke to the policeman and congratulated him on achieving "such a great feat". The CM wished him a speedy recovery and assured all support from Maharashtra government.
Shaikh, who is with Aurangabad Rural Police, had reached the Everest summit on Thursday. The 29-year-old, who started his latest expedition on April 4, is the first policeman from Maharashtra to scale the peak.
Born in a small village in the district, Shaikh had failed to climb the mountain peak twice due to natural calamities and predicaments thereafter. Shaikh's first voyage to Everest got cancelled due to an avalanche in 2014, which killed 17 sherpas. Last April, he went again, but had to return due to the earthquake in Nepal.
According to police sources in Aurangabad, Shaikh suffered frostbite while returning to the base camp after successfully climbing the world's tallest mountain peak.
He was airlifted from Lukla region to Kathmandu and admitted to a hospital in the Nepal's capital city yesterday, they said.
Aurangabad Superintendent of Police Navinchandra Reddy said Shaikh's condition was not very serious.
He had scaled the peak from the Sherpa south pole, situated at a height of 26,240 feet, sources said.
