Assailants gang raped a 27-year-old Israeli tourist and a 29-year-old homestay operator near the Hampi heritage site in Karnataka and killed a male tourist from Odisha by attacking him and pushing him into Tungabhadra canal late on Thursday night for not paying Rs 100 for petrol.
The Israeli tourist and the homsestay owner were sitting near the Tungabhadra Left Bank Canal and listening to music when they were attacked by three men.
The gang also attacked three male tourists who were present at the scene.
On Saturday the police arrested Mallesh alias Handimalla (22) and Chetan Sai (21), residents of Gangavathi in connection with the gang-rape and murder.
The Gangavathi police had formed special teams to crack the case.
The Kannada Prabha said that the miscreants gang-raped the women and attacked the male tourists for not paying Rs 100 for petrol. The report said that the gang had the habit of riding their two-wheelers after consuming alcohol. They confronted the tourists and demanded money which eventually resulted in a tragedy.
According to the police, a group of assailants on a motorcycle initially approached the tourists asking for petrol and demanding Rs 100. When the victims refused, the attackers turned violent, physically assaulting them, pushing the men into a canal, and then sexually assaulting the women.
"Since the homestay owner 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 (the homestay owner) stated in the FIR.
Two of the male tourists – Daniel from the US and Pankaj from Maharashtra – managed to escape, while the third tourist, Bibash from Odisha, was found dead, according to PTI news agency.
The attack has raised concerns about safety in Hampi, a Unesco World Heritage site, which attracts thousands of domestic and international tourists, The Independent reported.
The gang-rape of a tourist from Spain in the eastern state of Jharkhand in India last year has sparked anger and a discussion on safety in a country with rising crimes against women, the report noted.
This month, a 31-year-old man was jailed for life over the rape and murder of a 28-year-old Irish tourist in Goa, India, it added.
Moreover, in 2016 a Israeli tourist was gang-raped in Himachal Pradesh.
