Kamal Ghorui
Agra: A 19-year-old BA student was allegedly raped by an unidentified man while his aide stood guard as she went to relieve herself at a secluded spot near Fatehpur Sikri, an UNESCO heritage site, in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra district on Saturday afternoon. Later that night, police arrested one of the accused following an encounter.The survivor reached the Fatehpur Sikri police station, lodged a complaint, and recorded her statement. An FIR was registered under BNS sections 70(1) (gang rape) and 351 (criminal intimidation).“Multiple teams were formed to crack the case. Later in the night, an encounter broke out between police and the two accused. One of the accused, Kasim alias Mirchi (25), a resident of Fatehpur Sikri, was arrested in the early hours of Sunday after being shot in the left leg. The main accused, Sanjay Qureshi, escaped,” said DCP Agra (West) Aditya.SHO Anand Veer Singh said Kasim had been in jail for murder and was out on bail.Kasim was taken to the community health centre, and a separate FIR was filed regarding the encounter under BNS Section 109(1) (attempt to murder) and the Arms Act.This incident comes nearly nine years after a Swiss couple, Quentin Jeremy Clerc and Marie Droz, were attacked near Fatehpur Sikri by four local youths. Clerc sustained a skull fracture and nerve damage, while Droz suffered multiple broken bones. The case drew national attention, with then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj seeking a report and officials visiting the couple at AIIMS Delhi.Though not as famous as the Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri attracts many visitors. Once the Mughal capital (1572–1585), the region has witnessed several tourism-related crimes: in 2014, a German woman was allegedly molested by a hotel manager in Agra, and in 2007, two Japanese tourists were gang-raped.
