Japanese tourist beaten up in Agra

Niyto is admitted in a nursing home. According to Agra SSP V.K. Maurya, Niyto had gone to Keetham Lake in the afternoon to record its beauty and nearby Soor Sarovar Bird Sanctuary. On his way back, he was stopped by the two accused, who beat him up and then robbed him.

Niyto, left for dead, managed to reach a phone booth and call his hotel. The hotel manager, in turn, informed the president of Hotels & Restaurants Association Rakesh Chauhan and both of them carried Niyto to a nearby nursing home. Chauhan also informed the Japanese Embassy.

The Foreign Tourist Traders’ & Exporters’ Association (FTTA) is worried about the impact the incident will have on tourists wanting to visit places outside the beaten track in and around Agra.

FTTA Convenor Prahlad Agarwal pointed out that the association had been demanding more security for places like Keetham Lake so that these could be developed into tourism spots. The law and order situation here is so bad that even locals think twice before visiting it.

The Niyto incident could add urgency to the plan for a Heritage Corridor on the bed of the Yamuna behind Taj Mahal.