German national beaten up in Uttar Pradesh's Sonbhadra after ignoring greetings; accused arrested

A German tourist was beaten up by a man in Uttar Pradesh's Sonabhadra after he ignored his greetings, media reports said on Sunday. The police later took the accused into custody, ANI reported.The man Holger Eric got down at Robertsganj railway on his way to Agra Fort. But at the station, he was beaten up by a man named Aman Yadav, NDTV reported. However, Yadav blamed Eric for hitting him when he greeted him "Welcome to India". He added that the German national also spat on him. This is the second major attack on foreign tourists in Uttar Pradesh in the last two weeks. On 22 October, a Swiss couple, Quentin Jeremy Clerc and Marie Droz, from Lausanne were attacked with stones and sticks by a group of youths in Fatehpur Sikri.[caption id="attachment_4193807" align="alignleft" width="380"]

Representational image. AFP[/caption]According to news reports, the couple was strolling near the railway station at Fatehpur Sikri after a day in Agra when a group started following them and later attacked them. The couple said that as they lay on the ground bloodied and bruised, bystanders began taking videos of them on their mobile phones.The couple was brought to New Delhi's Apollo Hospital after the attack.Rajendra Prasad, a neurosurgeon at Apollo Hospital, had said that Droz had suffered a fracture in the arm. He had also said that the Swiss national may have had suffered hearing impairment after the attack.After the attack came to light, the Uttar Pradesh government came under fire from the Centre. The Uttar Pradesh Police arrested five youths from Fatehpur Sikri. Three out of the five arrested were underage boys, reports said.The Yogi Adityanath government also ordered the rounding up of anti-social elements around the historical monuments in and near Agra.More than 50 'lapkas' or touts who target foreign visitors at Fatehpur Sikri, Agra Fort, and the Taj Mahal were rounded up. They were booked for harassment and disturbing public peace and sent to jail.Senior Superintendent of Police Amit Pathak said that information centres were being planned at the monuments where tourists will get help from Tourism Police. A booklet will be published giving full details of distances and fares.With inputs from agencies