They came to feel India’s essence, got shot at instead

They were on a 10-day trip to capture the capital's essence in a 90-minute documentary. Instead they found themselves battling for their lives at a government hospital in central Delhi.

They were on a 10-day trip to capture the capital's essence in a 90-minute documentary. Instead they found themselves battling for their lives at a government hospital in central Delhi.

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"The two injured persons have been identified as Zeseweiu Ku (27) and Chiang Ko (38). They are part of a five-member team of documentary filmmakers from Taiwan that had landed in the Capital last evening," said a senior police officer, requesting anonymity.

The team, including a 25-year-old woman, had taken a connecting flight to Delhi from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. "They were putting up at the Hotel Star Rocks Bed and Breakfast located in south Delhi's Safdurjung area," the officer said.

Sources said the crew was from Taiwan's 'Super Taste TV' - a local channel and was in the capital to film a documentary titled 'A Lady's Wondering Trip in India'.

“The crew had left their hotel at 8 a.m. and went to the India Gate before reaching the Red Fort an hour later. They had filmed there till 10 a.m. and reached the Jama Masjid area around 10:30 am,” said the officer.

The crew was supposed to go on a drive around Lutyen's Delhi after shooting the Jama Masjid when two of its members were shot at by a biker duo.

"They were getting into the bus that they had hired to commute around the capital when two men on a motorcycle zipped past them, spraying bullets from a small fire arm. Chaing was hit in the stomach while a bullet grazed past Zeseweiu's head. They were rushed to the Lok Nayak hospital on the same bus," the officer said.

Scheduled to stay on in the capital till September 20 before leaving for Jaipur the next day, the crew was supposed to have stayed in Jaipur for two days before going to Agra.

“They were supposed to leave for Taiwan on September 27,” the officer added.

At 6 p.m., however, a team of 15 doctors was discussing Chiang’s condition after his four-hour surgery. “Chiang is in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and in a critical state while Zeseweiu is under observation in the general ward,” said a senior medical official of the hospital.