One arrested for assault on Swiss couple

Police said on Thursday they have arrested one person and are looking for three others for attacking a Swiss couple at Fatehpur Sikri near Agra, leaving them badly injured. The Swiss tourists are now warded in Delhi's Apollo Hospital.

Additional Director General of Police Chandra Prakash said the arrest was made from the Agra-Rajasthan border. He declined to reveal the identity of the arrested person.

Prakash said the Swiss couple - Quentin Jeremy Clerc and Marie Droxz - were found lying injured and bleeding on a roadside on October 22 after some locals alerted police about them.

Police took them to a private hospital in Agra where first aid was given. The couple refused to lodge an FIR and requested police to allow them to go for further treatment to Apollo Hospital in New Delhi.

But police lodged a complaint on their own, Prakash said. "We are trying to arrest all the four persons involved in the incident."

On Thursday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj asked for a report from the Uttar Pradesh government on the assault.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said in Agra on Thursday that arrests were being made and a thorough inquiry would be held into the incident.

He said touts and anti-social elements who bring a bad name to Agra and the country would be firmly dealt with now on. Providing security to tourists would be a top priority, he added.

In New Delhi, the Swiss couple spoke of a violent assault on them resulting in head injury and fractured arm.

In Fatehpur Sikri area, there have been numerous such incidents targeting innocent tourists, but police have not stepped up vigil, say tour guides.

--IANS

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