Briton swam for a mile down Ganges while wife kayaked to flee gunmen
A BRITISH man was forced to swim over a mile down the Ganges while his wife paddled in a kayak beside him after they were held hostage by gunmen.
Matthew and Jessica Kidd, both teachers, had been kayaking down the Indian river when they stopped at a secluded island for the night and set up camp.
The Glaswegian couple were ambushed in their tent on Sunday night by two men with pistols. They offered the gunmen their mobile phones and cash as they tried to negotiate for their lives, before eventually getting away after the attackers threatened to molest Mrs Kidd.
Mr Kidd, 30, said: “Two men approached us with weapons. For an hour, one pointed a gun at us. We escaped by running into the water and we managed to cross to a village, where locals called police.”
Two suspects were arrested and police told The Daily Telegraph they had been charged under “offences against foreigners, looting and molestation charges” and would face trial.
Mr Kidd positively identified the men, saying “These are the men that threatened us violently – this is them” as Mrs Kidd, 28, pointed at them.
The incident happened in Pandarak, in the state of Bihar. The Kidds were making their way across the country towards Kolkata, aiming to reach the eastern city by middecember.
“We are on an adventure tour in a raft moving downstream on the Ganga from Haridwar to Kolkata,” said Mr Kidd. “The youngsters tried to loot us and even misbehaved with my wife. However, we tried to save ourselves and reached a spot called Kalighat.” There, villagers called police, who alerted Manu Maharaj, Patna’s senior superintendent of police. He said the case was being taken extremely seriously. The couple are now under the protection of Patna police, but they have decided to resume their journey soon.
They quit their jobs to become travel vloggers, and run a website called tartantravellers.com where they have been sharing videos, posts and pictures during their long trip.
Mr Kidd said: “The people of India are very good and cooperative, but such stray incidents tarnish the image of a country.”