Fatehpur Sikri assault: Swiss couple in Delhi hospital, 5 held

While Droz was discharged on Wednesday after undergoing a minor procedure for a fracture in her forearm, Clerc is under observation.

“He was in the ICU for two days. There is no need for surgery and he is improving with medicines. He has not suffered a head injury but a skull fracture. There is also bleeding under the fracture. In addition to that, there is bruising on the surface of the brain. There is also damage to the nerve of the right ear. We are giving medicines to treat to fracture and the swelling. He is responding to treatment. It is heartening that the Minister of External affairs Sushma Swaraj sent senior officials from MEA. We gave them a detailed report on the two,” said Rajendra Prasad, neurosurgeon, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital.

In a statement later in the evening, the Embassy of Switzerland said: “In the framework of consular protection services, the Embassy is providing support to them. For reasons of privacy and data protection, the Embassy cannot communicate any further information in this regard.”

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj sought a report from the UP government on the attack and said the government is monitoring the progress of Clerc and Droz.

In a series of tweets, the minister said, “our Joint Secretary S Bhattacharjee and Indian Ambassador designate to Switzerland C B George met Swiss nationals Clerc and Marie Droz in hospital this morning”.

Additional Superintendent of police, Agra, Akhilesh Narain Singh told The Indian Express: “All accused were arrested from UP-Rajasthan border in Fatehpur Sikri area. They will be produced before a local court tomorrow.”

“A sub-inspector was sent to Delhi to collect the medical report of the two tourists and record their statement. The couple have given other details and photographs of the accused they had clicked. Efforts are being made to arrest other accused,” said Singh.

He also said that those arrested did not reveal the reason behind the attack.

Minister of State for Tourism K J Alphons wrote to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday, saying he was “deeply concerned that two Switzerland citizens were attacked and injured at Fatehpur Sikri”.

“You would kindly appreciate that such incidents negatively impact our image and are detrimental to our efforts in promoting India as a tourism destination. 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,” he wrote.

According to UP Home Department, Clerc and Droz arrived in Delhi on September 30. “On October 20, they reached Agra from Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan and stayed at Hotel Sai Palace in Tajganj area. On October 22, both left the hotel around 10 am to visit Fatehpur Sikri where some youths pelted stones and injured them,” the department spokesperson said.

UP Additional Director General, Crime, Chandra Prakash said that a police team took them to a health centre where doctors referred them to the district hospital.

The ADG added that the couple left Agra on Sunday and gave in writing that they didn’t want to file an FIR.

Local resident Zakir Suleiman, 16, said: “I saw the two of them (the couple) lying on the road. They asked for help and we tried to help them up and gave them water. The woman was hurt quite badly. There was a lot of blood. Somebody in the neighbourhood tied a bandage on their head. We were all sitting outside and we saw them. We didn’t understand what they were saying, they were speaking English.”