Won't visit India, Japanese say after robbery

Agra, March 17 (IANS) Two Japanese students who were victims of a robbery here have vowed never again to visit India after the police declined to give them a copy of the FIR.

The two Japanese were targeted on Monday evening by two criminals who snatched their iPhone when they were about to board a train at the Agra Fort railway station to Varanasi.

The young visitors had just finished seeing the Taj Mahal when the incident took place.

One of the two snatchers was floored by the Japanese students, one of who was a martial arts specialist. The other criminal ran away.

A crowd which quickly collected outside the railway station was ready to lynch the fallen criminal but timely arrival of the police saved his life.

The Japanase students were upset when the police refused to give them a copy of the FIR, saying it would be emailed later.

Hurt, they said in front of the crowd that they never return to India.

The two came to India on March 14. After touring Delhi and Jaipur, they reached Agra on Monday morning. They saw the Taj and the Agra Fort before reaching the railway station to board the Marudhar Express.

Police said both were engineering students.

One of the two accused was identified as Chotu of Taj Ganj area. Tourist Police Inspector Sushant Gaur said the man who ran away was identified as Deepu and he would be arrested soon.

Superintendent of Police Sameer Saurabh said the Japanese students were in a hurry to catch the train. A copy of the FIR was being emailed to them and soon the iPhone would be seized and couriered to them.

On the night of March 7, two young women from Switzerland were harassed by two goons at a railway station in Agra. Both men were arrested.

"Whatever police may claim about improved law and order situation, tourists feel insecure to move out for a stroll late in the evening," said a city hotelier, Surendra Sharma.