8 arrested for attacking group accompanying French tourists

VARANASI: Eight people have been arrested on the charge of attempting to molest a woman and attacking a group of persons accompanying six French tourists at Lakhania Dari waterfall in Mirzapur on Sunday, police said on Monday.

Three of the alleged attackers were arrested on Sunday night and five on Monday, police added.

Police denied any attack on the French tourists during the incident. The woman who the suspects attempted to molest was not one of the tourists.

The French tourists are associated with a charitable organisation, police said. Some of the people accompanying them are also involved in social work.

Police said the attackers beat up a man after he resisted their attempt to molest one of his three nieces who were accompanying the tourists.

The tourists included Jean Pierre, Bykans Petit Patricia, Venitucci Dominique, Claire Anquetil, Piazza Celia and Marie Bernard, police said.

The man, his nieces and the six French tourists visited Lakhania Dari on Sunday where Vivek Kesari, along with his accomplices, allegedly attacked them, police said.

Superintendent of police, Mirzapur, Ashish Tiwari told HT, “I have spoken to one of the French tourists over the phone. He said he intervened in the matter and tried to support the man who sustained injuries”.

The SP said the tourist told him: “A few drops of blood fell on my hand. But we were not assaulted. All of us are safe.” Tiwari said a case was registered against eight persons, including Vivek Kesari.

Those arrested included Imran, Deepak Kumar, Prabhat Gupta, Abhishek Kumar Yadav, Krishna Yadav, Vivek Kesari, Ravi Kumar Bhardwaj and Jaikishan Jaiswal, police said, adding all were residents of Varanasi. Meanwhile, Somit Banerjee of Ananmayi Hospital told HT the people attacked in Lakhania Dari were not associated with the Anandmayi hospital. A relative of one of the girls who accompanied the tourists, works in the hospital kitchen.