Swiss couple attacked in India: Man left with fractured skull, risks hearing loss

AGRA, India: A Swiss couple was attacked with stones and sticks by youths in Fatehpur Sikri, leaving them severely injured.

Quentin Jeremy Clerc, 24, who came to India on Sept 30 with his girlfriend Marie Droz, also 24, told The Times of India from a hospital in Delhi that they were attacked near the railway station at Fatehpur Sikri by a group of youths.

"They initially passed comments, which we didn't understand, and then forced us to stop so they could take selfies with Marie," he said.

The harassment soon turned into an attack so brutal that it left Clerc with a fractured skull and a clot in his brain.

Doctors attending on him said a blow that struck one of his ears has caused hearing impairment. Droz has a broken arm and multiple bruises.

The couple said as they lay on the ground bloodied and bruised, bystanders began taking videos of them on their mobile phones.

Recounting the horror, Clerc said, "The boys wouldn't stop walking along despite our protests. All the while they kept taking pictures and trying to get close to Marie. From whatever little we could understand, they were asking our names and the place where we had put up in Agra. They were harassing us. They asked us to accompany them to some place, which we refused, he maintained.

A little after stones and sticks began to rain on me. When Marie intervened, she, too, wasn't spared." Droz said she first thought the boys "won't hit a woman". She was wrong. "They hurled stones at both of us. I was hit on the back, shoulder and hand. I still cannot understand why they attacked us. They didn't take any of our valuables."

Doctors said that Clerc had a skull fracture and blood clot in the brain. He was immediately admitted to the ICU. His hearing nerve on the right ear has been affected.

They added that Marie broke her left arm in the attack and was operated upon on Tuesday.