New Delhi : The Uttar Pradesh Police late on Wednesday arrested a suspect for an attack on a Swiss couple who were chased and hit with sticks and stones in the ancient city of Fatehpur Sikri, 40km from Agra, on Sunday afternoon.
Quentin Jeremy Clerc, 24, fractured his skull and suffered nerve damage while his girlfriend Marie Droz, also 24, was left with broken bones in the attack that brings into focus security of foreign tourists.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said she had sought a report from the state government and a team from the ministry would reach out to the couple from Lausanne, undergoing treatment in a Delhi hospital.
Quentin Jeremy Clerc and his partner Marie Droz, both in their twenties, were strolling around a railway track in Fatehpur Sikri when they started to be harassed by a group of local youth who insisted they click selfies with the female tourist, police said.
The youth then started inquiring about the place of stay of the tourists and after a set of intrusive questions began assaulting Mr. Clerc with stones and sticks. Even Ms. Droz was not spared and assaulted with stones and sticks, the couple said.
Mr. Clerc suffered a fractured skull while Ms. Droz received a broken arm. The two are receiving treatment in a Delhi hospital.
Police filed the complaint on its own cognisance after the victims were not interested, a spokesperson for the Agra SSP said.
Police have identified some of the assaulted and could arrest them soon, the spokesperson said.
“I have asked for a report from the State Government,” Ms. Swaraj tweeted about the incident.
“My officers will reach them in the hospital,” Ms. Swaraj said.
