UK Edition
British rafters flee armed robbers through the River Ganges
A British couple on a rafting adventure fled through the holy waters of the River Ganges after being targeted by armed attackers in India.
Matthew, 30 and Jessica Kidd, 28, from Glasgow, had set up camp for the night while on a rafting trip along the eastern part of the waterway, revered by Hindus, and were relaxing in their tent when they were attacked by two men, the couple told cameras at a press conference on Tuesday.
Mr Kidd said of the incident on Sunday night: "We were camping on an island when two men approached us with weapons. For an hour one pointed a gun at us.
"We managed to escape by running into the water and we managed to cross to a village, where locals phoned the police."
Police paraded two suspects before the cameras, both with their faces covered, and confirmed to The Telegraph that they have been charged under “offences against foreigners, looting and molestation charges”, and would face a speedy trial.
Mr Kidd positively identified the men, saying: "These are the men that threatened us violently - this is them", as Mrs Kidd pointed at them.
The assault happened in Pandarak, around 65 miles east of Patna, in the state of Bihar. The Kidds were making their way across the country towards Kolkata, aiming to reach the eastern city by mid December.
"We are on an adventure tour in a raft moving downstream on the river 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."
At Kalighat, villagers called police, who alerted Patna’s Senior Superintendent of Police Manu Maharaj, who said the case was being taken extremely seriously.
The couple are at present under the protection of Patna police, but they have decided to resume their journey soon.
Mr and Mrs Kidd, as well as teaching, are travel vloggers who run a website called tartantravellers.com, and have been sharing videos, posts and pictures on various social media during their long trip.
On their last blog entry, as they began their Ganges odyssey on October 21, they wrote of the riverside villages: “We have experienced hospitality beyond belief where villages have welcomed us into their homes and often don't want us to leave.”
Mr Kidd, a geography teacher and former sailor, said: "The people of India are very good and cooperative, but such stray incidents tarnish the image of an entire country.”
Mrs Kidd, an English teacher, also was keen to stress they were treating the attack as contrary to the rest of their experiences in India.
"We started our tour from Haridwar in September and travelling downstream we celebrated Diwali and Chhath. The people have been extremely cooperative in providing us food and Indian delicacies," she said.
This is the third attack on western tourists in India in the past fortnight, after a German man was attacked at a railway station in the state of Uttar Pradesh and a Swiss couple were left hospitalised in Agra, near the site of the Taj Mahal.
Tourism minister KJ Alphons has since claimed that India remains a safe destination for tourists.