Aparna is also the first civil servant to scale the highest peaks of six out of seven continents.
After scaling Mount Vinson Massif, the highest peak in Antartica, earlier this year, IPS officer Aparna Kumar has become the first lady IPS officer to scale Mount Everest.
Aparna, a 2002 batch IPS officer, scaled Mount Everest on Saturday at around 11.02 am in her third attempt. In her previous two attempts, an avalanche in 2014 and an earthquake in 2015 prevented her from completing her quest.
With Mount Everest under her belt, Aparna has also become the first civil servant to scale the highest peaks of six out of seven continents.
Photo source: Aparna’s Facebook Page
“She unfurled the national tricolour and flag of UP Police at the summit. A proud moment for the nation and UP Police,” said Sanjay Kumar, Aparna’s husband and also the District Magistrate of Allahabad in an interview given to Times of India.
Aparna enrolled herself in a month long basic mountaineering course at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali, in October 2013.
In 2014, she scaled Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the highest peak on the African continent. This feat was followed by climbing atop Carstensz Pyramid peak in the West Papuan province of Indonesia, the highest in the Australia and Oceania region.
Aparna, who now has her eyes set on Mount McKinley in Alaska, was conferred the Rani Laxmi Bai Puraskar by UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in 2015.
Director General of Police of UP, Javeed Ahmed, and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted and congratulated Aparna on her success.
A proud moment for our police forces as Ms Aparna Kumar becomes the first female IPS officer to scale Mount Everest. pic.twitter.com/rPqaTF8cOs
— Rajnath Singh (@BJPRajnathSingh) May 21, 2016
Update: We had earlier published that Aparna Kumar was the first civil servant who scaled Mount Everest. However, we wish to rectify that and mention that IAS officer Ravindra Kumar holds that honour.
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