A Swiss couple was chased by a group of men and attacked with sticks and stones before being left wounded on a road in Fatehpur Sikri near Agra on Sunday, a day after they visited the Taj Mahal. Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj has asked for a report from the Uttar Pradesh government on the brutal assault, which has left the man with head injuries and a partial hearing loss.
One of the four attackers has been arrested.
Quentin Jeremy Clerc was brought to Delhi’s Apollo hospital when his condition worsened. A doctor has told the Times of India that he suffered a skull fracture and blood clot in the brain. A nerve in his ear has also been affected.
He and his girlfriend Marie Droxz, both 24, had come from Lausanne in Switzerland on September 30 for a visit to Agra. After visiting the Taj, they were in the historic Fatehpur Sikri town on Sunday when they were stalked and harassed by four men.
The group followed them, passed comments and tried to strike up a conversation with them. Eventually they grew bolder, blocked their way and forcibly took selfies.
“They followed us for almost an hour, and kept taking our pictures despite our objections,” Mr Clerc has been quoted as telling the Times of India.
When they were returning from Fatehpur Sikri, the men hit Mr Clerc with a stick. “My girlfriend who was walking ahead of me rushed to my help and raised an alarm, attracting the attention of the people in the vicinity,” he said.
The men hit Mr Clerc repeatedly till he fell to the ground. Ms Droxz was also attacked and her arm was fractured.
The men ran away when some people rushed to help the couple, who had been left lying on the road, injured.
They were initially taken to a local hospital and then moved to Delhi.
