- By Aditya Jha
- Sat, 08 Mar 2025 03:11 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
In a tragic incident, a 27-year-old female Israeli tourist and a 29-year-old local homestay owner were allegedly gang-raped by three men in Karnataka on Thursday night. The incident occurred around 11.30 pm when they were stargazing on the banks of the popular Sanapur Lake, near Hampi.
Apart from this, a male tourist from Odisha was found dead after drowning into the canal after the miscreants pushed him into the Tungabhadra left bank canal. His body was recovered by the authorities on Saturday morning. Two other male tourists from the US and Maharashtra sustained injuries and are recovering at a government hospital.
The incident has created a panic among the people residing near the famous lake, raising serious questions regarding the security arrangements around the lake. The security arrangement is also under scrutiny as the lake is visited by a great number of foreign tourists. Upon receiving the complaint, six teams of police are probing and are hunting for the culprits.
A case has already been registered at the Gangavathi rural police station under serious sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including 309(6) (theft or extortion), 311 (robbery or dacoity with the intent to cause death or grievous hurt), 64 (rape), 70(1) (gang-rape), 109 (attempt to murder). “Survivors informed the police that he was pushed into the canal. Since then, his whereabouts are not known,” Koppal SP Ram L Arasiddi was quoted as saying by Deccan Herald.
The crime reportedly unfolded when the four tourists and the homestay owner were approached by the culprits while they were stargazing and listening to music near the lake. The culprits asked the tourists about where they could get petrol; however, they started getting aggressive when the tourists denied giving them Rs 100 when the miscreants asked for the money.
"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.
"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 further stated.
Apart from this, Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar assured that the police is investigating and the culprits will not be spared. "I came to know about this yesterday. Two people have been recovered, and one has to be recovered. They had gone there at midnight for star watching. Police are investigating. We will take action as per the law," Shivakumar was quoted as saying by ANI.
The culprits started abusing the tourists in Tamil and Kannada and started physically assaulting them. The miscreants also pushed the three male tourists and raped the remaining two women while the male tourists tried to get out of the lake. Police officials assured that the culprits will soon be caught, adding that six teams have been formed, and efforts are underway to nab them.
