Swiss national Quentin Jeremy Clerc is left with a fractured skull and at risk of hearing loss after he and his partner were brutally assaulted allegedly by a group of men armed with sticks and stones inear Agra on Sunday.
Doctors at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital (IAH), where the couple arrived directly from the airport on Tuesday, said the head injury led to the hearing impairment, which may reverse fully or partially in course of time.
They said 24-year-old Clerc also suffered severe bruises.
Police said the couple was walking alongside a train track when locals assaulted them. A suspect has been arrested late on Wednesday in connection with the attack.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj had earlier sought a report from the Uttar Pradesh government over the attack even as the tourism industry expressed concern that such incident would scare away tourists.
“The man had severe head injuries and was moved to an intensive care unit as soon as he arrived here,” said Dr Rajendra Prasad, the neurosurgeon who is leading the team of doctors treating Clerc at IAH, where he was referred from Agra.
“He was hit on the side of his head, which damaged the ear structure and compressed the nerves. But there is nothing that needs surgery,” the doctor said.
{{/usCountry}}“He was hit on the side of his head, which damaged the ear structure and compressed the nerves. But there is nothing that needs surgery,” the doctor said.
{{/usCountry}}His partner, Marie Droz (24) sustained multiple bruises and fractured her left arm, which was fixed on Tuesday. She has been discharged.
Clerc was moved out of the ICU to the regular ward on Wednesday night, suggesting an improvement in his condition. He has been put on hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Both the victims are traumatised, the doctor said.
“They will be fit enough to travel after at least five to six days. The couple had decided not to risk going to a hotel. They would leave for airport directly from the hospital with a medical escort as soon as Clerc is discharged,” said Dr Prasad.
Agra for its iconic Taj Mahal draws thousands of foreign tourists every year. In the past also there were instances of attack on foreign tourists. In 2007, two Japanese tourists were gangraped in the city while in 2014 a German woman claimed to have been molested by a hotel manager.