Third suspect taken into custody, says Karnataka Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi
Hampi: Two women — a 27-year-old Israeli tourist and a 29-year-old homestay owner — were gang-raped near Hampi, Karnataka, on Thursday night. Their three male companions were also assaulted and thrown into a canal, resulting in one of them drowning. His body was recovered on Friday morning.
Karnataka Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi announced on Sunday that the third suspect in the tourist rape case in Koppal district had been taken into custody.
According to the police, the attack occurred between 11 and 11.30pm near Sanapur Lake, about 4km from Hampi, a popular tourist destination in Karnataka. The victims — an Israeli woman, three men from Odisha, the US, and Maharashtra, and the homestay owner — had gone stargazing after dinner.
They were sitting by the Tungabhadra Canal, playing music, when three men on a motorbike approached them, pretending to ask for directions to a petrol pump.
When informed that no petrol station was nearby, the attackers demanded money. Upon refusal, they assaulted the group. The homestay owner, who later filed a complaint, said the attackers pushed the male tourists into the canal. As the men struggled to escape, two of the three assailants raped her and the Israeli tourist.
The FIR, as reported by PTI, states that the attackers dragged the homestay owner to the side of the canal, attempted to strangle her, and forcibly removed her clothes before two of them raped her. They also stole her bag, two mobile phones, and Rs9,500 in cash. The third attacker separately assaulted the Israeli tourist before all three fled on their motorbike.
Two of the male tourists—Pankaj from Maharashtra and Daniel from the US—managed to climb out of the canal and are receiving treatment at a government hospital. However, the Odisha tourist was unable to escape and was found dead the next morning.
Senior police officer Lokesh Kumar stated that the victims had initially given the attackers Rs 20, but the men demanded Rs 100, leading to an argument and subsequent violence. Following the attack, the victims sought help at a private resort and reported the incident to the police. A special police team is now working to identify and apprehend the suspects.
An FIR has been registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 309(6) (theft by extortion), Section 311 (robbery with intent to cause death or serious injury), Section 70(1) (gang rape), and Section 109 (attempted murder). With the discovery of the male tourist’s body, charges of murder may also be added.
