Agra: A day after two Swiss nationals were beaten mercilessly in Fatehpur Sikri, Union Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge) K J Alphons has shot off a strongly-worded missive to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
“I am deeply concerned that two Switzerland citizens were attacked and injured at Fatehpur Sikri yesterday. You would kindly appreciate that such incidents negatively impact our image and are detrimental to our efforts in promoting India as a tourism destination,” Alphons said in the letter.
The Swiss couple, 24-year-old Quentin Jeremy Clerc and Marie Droze, were taking a stroll near the railway station at Fatehpur Sikri when a group of boys started chasing them and harassing them, said media reports. They insisted they wanted to take pictures with Marie. When the couple refused, they rained stones and sticks on Jeremy. Marie too wasn’t spared in the brutal attack. The Swiss couple had come to India on September 30 and were in Agra a day before they went to Fatehpur Sikri.
Jeremy Clerc is currently undergoing treatment at the Apollo hospital in New Delhi. He has sustained a fracture in his skull and a clot in his brain. Doctors treating him said that a blow that had landed on his right ear has caused hearing impairment. Marie has a broken arm and multiple bruises.
Expressing his horror at the incident, the Union Tourism Minister wrote, “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”.
Police have arrested one of the accused in the case. A team of officials from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday met the Swiss couple at Apollo hospital after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj took note of the incident and sought a report from the Uttar Pradesh government. “We met the couple and they are fine. The couple is satisfied with the treatment,” said an MEA official after meeting the Swiss couple.
