Swiss couple attacked in Fatehpur Sikri: Police arrest one person; Opposition slams UP govt

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj has responded to a news report of a Swiss couple being attacked in Fatehpur Sikri near Agra on Sunday.

The external affairs minister today asked for a report from the state government and said her officers will reach the hospital in Delhi, where the couple are admitted after they were reportedly attacked brutally by a group of youth with stones and sticks. 

News agency ANI reported the police have registered an FIR against four people, at least one person has been arrested.

Also read: Attack on Swiss couple raises questions about Indian ethics

Soon after her post on Twitter, officials from the Ministry of External Affairs arrived at the Apollo hospital where Quentin Jeremy Clerc, 24 and his girlfriend Marie Droz, also 24, are admitted.

The couple said they were strolling near the railway station at Fatehpur Sikri when the group started following them and harassing Marie.

The youth subsequently attacked Clerc who was left with a fractured skull, a clot in his brain, a hearing impairment, a broken arm and multiple bruises, doctors attending on him told a media outlet.

When Marie intervened, she, too, was attacked. Her left arm has been broken (Zee News Network)

×

"They initially passed comments, which we didn't understand, and then forced us to stop so they could take selfies with Marie," Quentin told the media outlet from his hospital bed.

The couple said as they lay injured on the ground, bystanders began recording videos of them on their mobile. When Marie intervened, she, too, was attacked. Her left arm has been broken and she was operated upon on Tuesday.Marie has rubbished rumours that they were kissing. One of the local cops had said that may have been a reason for "instigating" the crowd. 

The couple had come to India on September 30.

Soon after the incident, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav launched an attack on the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in the state.

He also sarcastically asked the government "what happened to the anti-Romeo squads", referring to the deployment of police officials set up by the Uttar Pradesh chief minister to curb incidents of sexual harassment soon after he took charge earlier this year.

"There has been an unprecedented rise in cases of crime and loot in the state," Akhilesh Yadav said.

"What happened to anti-Romeo squads? A couple visiting Fatehpur Sikri were beaten when they tried to click a selfie," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister added.

Congress leader Milind Deora and author Taslima Nasreen also expressed their outrage on Twitter. As did many others on the social networking platform.