By IANS
Amritsar : The assault on a French woman tourist near the Sikh holy shrine of Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) here Wednesday evening while trying to snatch her bag has left the Amritsar police and the district authorities red-faced.
French tourist Tiphaine Angioletti, who was accompanied by her husband Robert, was dragged on the road for at least 20 feet by two motor-cycle borne youths as they tried to snatch her bag which was tied to her waist.
She had to be rushed to hospital with head injuries. Doctors at the private hospital put five stitches on her head to stop bleeding from a wound.
The couple, who were returning after visiting the Golden Temple and were on a cycle-rickshaw, were waylaid by the youth on the busy Mall Road here. The youths grappled with her while dragging her on the road and succeeded in snatching her bag.
The victim told the police that the bag contained US $250, 40 Euros, credit cards and a mobile phone.
Though the police later claimed that they had solved the snatching case by arresting two people, including an eunuch, the incident left the district administration and the police red-faced.
Deputy Commissioner K.S. Pannu, district police chief Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh and other district officials visited the injured tourist at the hospital and assured all help.
Embarrassed by the incident, Pannu said that new security measures were being put up near the Golden Temple to prevent such incidents.
This is the second major incident in this Sikh holy city in the last six months.
In December last year, a non-resident Indian (NRI) woman was killed when two youths tried to snatch her purse while she was going on the popular Lawrence Road here with her husband on a cycle-rickshaw. The victim fell on the road and died.
NRI Paramjit Walia told the police Dec 17 they were visiting this Sikh holy city to mark their 25th wedding anniversary. He said his wife Kalpana was killed after she fell down on the road from the cycle-rickshaw after two motorcycle-riding youth tried to snatch her purse.
The police suspected his role in the death of his wife.