3 minors detained over attack on Swiss couple at Fatehpur Sikri

Police have arrested three minors over an attack on a Swiss couple at Fatehpur Sikri near Agra, officials said on Thursday, even as the incident raised serious concerns over security of foreign tourists in India.

The assault, allegedly by a group of local boys on Wednesday, left Quentin Jeremy Clerc (24) with a fractured skull and damaged nerves while his girlfriend Marie Droz (24) too suffered several broken bones.

They were shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi.

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, who sought a report over the incident from the Uttar Pradesh government, said on Thursday evening that Droz has been discharged from hospital while Clerc’s condition was improving.

“We are monitoring his progress in the hospital,” she said in a series of tweets.

Indian ambassador-designate to Switzerland, CB George, and MEA joint secretary, S Bhattacharjee, also met the Lausanne-based couple at the hospital, she added.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who visited the Taj Mahal on Thursday, said those responsible would be dealt with “sternly”.

Additional director general (crime) Chandra Prakash said one boy was arrested late on Wednesday night from the border with Rajasthan while two others were held from Fatehpur Sikri, a Unesco World Heritage Site built by Mughal emperor Akbar in the 16th century.

Another official said the two of the accused were identified from photographs shot by the couple before they were assaulted.

Four boys are suspected to be be involved in the attack, police said.

Fatehpur Sikri police station in-charge Pradeep Kumar said Clerc and Droz were walking along a railway track when the group of boys –between 12 and 14 years of age – began following them.

It started as alleged attempts to take selfies with Droz, and soon turned into a full-blown assault. The two were taken to a local health centre before being shifted to AIIMS.

“They initially did not want to file a complaint. The police had to make out a case on their own,” said Kumar.

Despite not being as popular as the Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri – 40 km from Agra– gets its fair share of visitors.

“Such incidents will scare tourists away at a time when there is already so much controversy around the Taj. Hopefully, Yogiji will do something about it,” a tourist operator said, referring to Wednesday’s attack.

In 2014, a German woman was allegedly molested by a hotel manager at Agra. Two Japanese tourists were gang-raped in the historical city in 2007.

The Swiss embassy website warns tourists of high levels of crime in India, particularly in popular tourists spots such as Agra.

India’s tourism minister KJ Alphons expressed concern over the attack and urged Adityanath to take “speedy action” to apprehend the perpetrators.

“Such incidents negatively impact our image and are detrimental to our efforts in promoting India as a tourism destination,” Alphons said in a statement.

The incident is being seen as was a potential blow to India’s hopes of drawing more tourists to the country, which had 8.8 million foreign visitors last year, according to official data.

(With agency inputs)