Swiss couple attack: 3 minors arrested; Union ministers condemn incident

Lucknow/New Delhi: Three people were arrested after a young Swiss couple was attacked by a group of four youth in Agra's Fatehpur Sikri in Uttar Pradesh, leaving them battered and bruised, DGP PRO said on Thursday. All the three arrested are minors.

Quentin Jeremy Clerc, 24, who came to India on September 30 with his female friend Marie Droz, also 24, are on the way to recovery, said doctors at Apollo Hospital in Delhi where the couple have been admitted.

The attack took place on Sunday, police said, adding all the four assailants have been identified.

Dr Rajendra Prasad, neurosurgeon at the Apollo Hospital, said Clerc has been shifted to the ward from the ICU. The doctor said Droz has a fracture in her arm but has been discharged after treatment.

"We have moved him (Clerc) out of the ICU into a room. He is having a hearing problem otherwise he is conscious and talking," said Prasad, adding it is difficult to say at this moment whether he has suffered permanent hearing damage.

"He's improving but we will have to see in the long term," he said.

Prasad said the duo is in a state of shock and that Droz is at present with her male friend.

The couple from Lausanne in Switzerland was chased and attacked on Sunday with stones and sticks by a group of four youth in the tourist town of Fatehpur Sikri, about 40 km from Agra, according to media accounts of the incident.

"The Embassy of Switzerland in New Delhi confirms that two Swiss citizens were attacked in India," the Embassy said in a statement, adding, "In the framework of consular protection services, the Embassy is providing support to them.

For reasons of privacy and data protection, the Embassy cannot communicate any further information in this regard."

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj sought information from the UP government on the attack. She also said that her office will reach out to the couple.

"I have just seen this. I have asked for a report from the state government. My officers will reach them in the hospital," Swaraj tweeted in the morning.

Union Minister of State for Tourism K J Alphons dashed off a letter to Yogi Adityanath, saying the incident could have a negative impact on the image of the country.

Alphons said he was "deeply concerned" over the attack. "A fast and speedy response in identifying and ensuring speedy action, including conviction of the guilty, would be reassuring, as also a good message of our efforts to prevent recurrence of such incidents," the minister wrote.

Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma, who held the tourism portfolio before the recent reshuffle and who played a significant role in organising the 'Paryatan Parv', also said the incident was a matter of shame for the country.    

The incident came to light a day after the conclusion of the 'Paryatan Parv', India's biggest tourism festival which is aimed at increasing the tourist footfall in the country.

"I condemn the attack on the foreign tourists. It is unfortunate and should not have happened. It is a matter of shame for us," he said in Delhi.

ADG Chandra Prakash said that on October 22 someone informed Dial 100 about the incident after which the couple was admitted to a primary health centre and later to a private hospital in Agra.

"As the couple did not lodge any FIR, police suo motu lodged an NCR (non-cognizable report) in the matter," he said, adding that after medical report found a fracture in an arm of one of the tourists, relevant sections of the IPC were included in the FIR.

Asked about the accused, the ADG said, "Initial reports said that some of them are minor. But as probe is on, it will not be fair to disclose their names."

The couple was quoted as saying in a media report that they were strolling near the railway station at the Fatehpur Sikri after a day in Agra when the group started following them and later attacked.

The couple said that as they lay on the ground bloodied and bruised, bystanders began taking videos of them on their mobile phones.