A 19-year-old German tourist was injured after a knife attack in Delhi, police said on Saturday. The suspects have been identified.
The victim was also robbed of his belongings, including cash in Indian currency by two assailants near the Red Fort area.
The attack took place on Friday around 11.30 pm when Benjamin Scolt, on a tourist visa to India, hired an e-rickshaw from the New Delhi Railway Station for a visit to the fort, Deputy Commissioner of Police Jatin Narwal said.
Narwal, citing Scolt, said a man, other than the driver, was already sitting in the rickshaw, when he ordered it.
It was likely that the man was known to the rickshaw driver, the police officer said.
After Scolt boarded the vehicle, it was taken to an isolated place behind the Red Fort, he said. The two men then asked him to hand over his belongings, said Narwal.
He might have resisted and they pulled out a knife and threatened him, he said.
“He refused and they attacked him with the weapon and left him injured after taking away his bag and the cash he was carrying,” Narwal added.
Scolt, Narwal said, cried for help as a police patrol van passed by.
The tourist was taken to the nearby Dr Hedgewar Hospital and the German Embassy was informed immediately, he said.
A police officer, who is part of the investigation team and refused to be named, said the two suspects were identified after police questioned at least 25 e-rickshaw drivers in the area. “The search is on. We should be able to arrest them soon,” the officer said.
Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj has intervened in the matter and directed the government to offer Scolt the “best medical treatment”.
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