A young Swiss couple was attacked by a group of four youths in Agra's Fatehpur Sikri in Uttar Pradesh, leaving them battered and bruised, after which three of them were arrested, police said on Thursday.
Quentin Jeremy Clerc, 24, who came to India on September 30 with his female friend Marie Droz, also 24, are on the way to recovery, said doctors at Apollo Hospital in Delhi where the couple have been admitted. The attack took place on Sunday, police said, adding all the four assailants have been identified.
Dr Rajendra Prasad, neurosurgeon at the Apollo Hospital in Delhi where the couple was admitted, said Clerc has been shifted to the ward from the ICU. He said Droz has a fracture in her arm but has been discharged after treatment.
'We have moved him(Clerc) out of the ICU into a room. He is having a hearing problem otherwise he is conscious and talking,' said Prasad, adding it is difficult to say at this moment whether he has suffered permanent hearing damage.The couple from Lausanne in Switzerland was chased and attacked on Sunday with stones and sticks by a group of four youths in the tourist town of Fatehpur Sikri, about 40 km from Agra, according to media accounts of the incident.
'The Embassy of Switzerland in New Delhi confirms that two Swiss citizens were attacked in India,' the Embassy said in a statement, adding, '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.'
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who was in Agra to visit Taj Mahal in an apparent damage control exercise following the controversy over its place in Indian heritage set off by BJP leaders, said two attackers had been arrested.
'Two attackers have been arrested, and strict action will be taken against those (other people) involved in the attack,' he told reporters in Agra. Shortly after, third arrest in the case was made by the UP police.
'We have given instructions to police to strictly deal with such people. Our government will not accept such incidents,' he added.
Additional Director General (ADG) Crime Chandra Prakash earlier told reporters in Lucknow that one person has been arrested from Agra-Rajasthan border and that search is on to nab three others. A police official later said two of the assailants have been arrested.

PTI