Days after the heinous attack on a Swiss couple at Fatehpur Sikri near Agra, tourism minister K J Alphons has offered the victims a free two-night stay at a five-star hotel in the national capital as a token of concern. The minister wrote a letter to the couple in which he offered them a stay at the government-run ITDC hotel, The Ashoka, after they recovered from their injuries. In his letter, Alphons said Marie Droze and Quentin Jeremy Clerc can choose to stay at the hotel on the dates of their choice. “Trust you are recovering fast and would be on your way home soon. As a token of our concern, we would like to offer you a room at our luxury hotel, The Ashok, at Chanakyapuri, New Delhi for two nights on the dates of your choice. All expenses at the hotel, including food and beverages, would be covered,” he said in the letter.
As per reports, the Union minister had earlier written to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath seeking introspection into the incident and also visited the couple who are currently admitted at Delhi’s Apollo Hospital, assuring them full cooperation.
The couple from Lausanne in Switzerland, on October 22, was assaulted by five youngsters after being chased. The couple was then attacked with stones and sticks by the group in the tourist town of Fatehpur Sikri, about 40 km from Agra. Later all five attackers were arrested
The couple also informed the media that as they lay on the ground bloodied and bruised, bystanders began making videos of them on their mobile phones instead of helping them. Adityanath, who was in Agra three last week, expressed his unhappiness at the incident and also warned the unauthorized canvassers and vendors at the historical monuments of consequences.
With three of world’s famous heritage monuments and several architectural marvels, Agra receives an annual footfall of nearly 10 million Indian and foreign tourists.