Kathmandu, Jan. 27 -- In 2018, the government claimed it had eliminated all "intermediaries" involved in arranging emergency evacuation services for trekkers and mountaineers, and made tour operators legally responsible for their clients from the start to the end of a trip.

The move followed revelations of large-scale insurance fraud that badly tarnished Nepal's image as a tourist destination. Under the revised arrangement, helicopter companies, travel and tour operators, hospitals and insurance firms were required to submit details of rescue flights, medical treatment and insurance bills to the Tourist Search and Rescue Committee, the Tourist Police and the Department of Tourism.

Seven years later, however, a special unit of Nepal Poli...