Koppal: Two women, including a 27-year-old Israeli tourist, were allegedly gang-raped and assaulted while stargazing near Hampi, police said on Saturday. Three male tourists who were with the women were also assaulted and pushed into a canal and one of them was found dead, they said.
“Out of the three accused, we have arrested two and efforts are being taken to nab the third suspect in the case,” Ram L Arasiddi, Superintendent of Police of Koppal, told PTI. As the opposition BJP in Karnataka flayed the Congress government over the incident, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah assured that his government is committed to providing protection to everyone, including tourists, coming to the state.
The arrested have been identified as Mallesh and Chetan Sai. Both aged 21 years hail from Sai Nagara in Gangavathi town and work as masons. The incident occurred around 11 pm on Thursday. After dinner, a 29-year-old homestay operator, along with the Israeli tourist and three male tourists, was sitting by the left bank of the Tungabhadra Canal near Sanapur Lake, playing the guitar, enjoying music, and stargazing.
Among the male tourists, one was from the United States, while the others were from Odisha and Maharashtra. According to police, in her complaint, the homestay operator alleged that while they were stargazing and playing music, three men who came on a motorcycle approached them, asking where they could get petrol. When she informed them that there were no petrol pumps nearby and suggested they get it from Sanapur, the accused demanded Rs 100.
“Since the homestay operator did not know them, she told them they had no money. When the men repeatedly insisted, one of the male tourists from Odisha gave them Rs 20. After that, the three men allegedly started arguing and threatened to bash their heads with stones,” the complainant stated in the FIR.
When the group refused to give them more money, the accused, who spoke Kannada and Telugu, started abusing them. They then allegedly raped the homestay operator and the Israeli tourist and pushed the three male tourists into the canal, a senior police officer said.
“Two of the accused beat the homestay operator, while the third aggressively pushed the three male tourists into the canal. The three accused also hit the homestay operator, leaving her seriously injured,” the FIR added. The accused dragged her to the side of the canal, where one of them strangled her and removed her clothes. Two of them beat and raped her. They also snatched her bag, stealing two mobile phones and Rs 9,500 in cash, according to the FIR.
Similarly, one of them dragged the Israeli tourist and raped her. The accused fled on a motorcycle after the assault, the complainant alleged. Of the three male tourists, two sustained injuries and another went missing, whose dead body was recovered on Saturday morning.
Based on the complaint, a case was registered at Gangavathi Rural Police Station under sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita that deal with extortion, robbery or dacoity with intent to cause death or grievous hurt, gang rape, and attempted murder, police said. The two women are undergoing treatment at a hospital.
Taking to social media platform ‘X’, Siddaramaiah termed the inicdent as a “most heinous act”. “As soon as the incident was reported, I obtained information from the relevant police, conducted a thorough investigation, and instructed them to quickly identify the culprits,” he said.
“Our government is committed to providing protection to everyone, including tourists, coming to the state. All necessary measures will be taken to ensure that such incidents do not recur,” he assured. Hitting out at the ruling Congress, Karnataka BJP President B Y Vijayendra alleged that despite the rise in crimes against women across the state, the dispensation remains “delusional and indifferent” to the suffering of its people.
Sharing news report about the incident on ‘X’, he said, “It is deeply disturbing to hear about the horrific rape of two women, a foreign national and a homestay owner reportedly from Koppal district, near the Tungabhadra canal. Criminals now act with impunity, unafraid of consequences, even in the immediate aftermath of Hampi Utsava, a festival that honors the grand legacy of the Vijayanagara Empire. The stark contrast between the state’s glorious past and its present lawlessness is truly disheartening.”
He further alleged that instead of focusing on governance and public safety, Home Minister G Parameshwara, along with the rest of the cabinet, seems more preoccupied with hosting dinner parties than ensuring the security of citizens.
“Even as crimes against women continue to rise across Karnataka, the government remains delusional and indifferent to the pain and suffering of its people. This administration is proving to be a curse on Karnataka,” he alleged.
