Lucy Clarke-Billings
BBC News
Two women were gang-raped and a man was killed in an attack near a popular Unesco World Heritage site in southern India, according to police.
The two women – an Israeli tourist and an Indian homestay operator – were stargazing with three male tourists near a lake in the city of Hampi, Karnataka, when they were attacked by a group of men on Thursday night, police superintendent Ram Arasiddi told Reuters.
Arasiddi said the assailants pushed the men into the Tungabhadra River canal before raping the women.
Two of the men, one of them American, survived, and the third man’s body was recovered on Saturday morning, he said.
“Five people – two women and three men – were attacked near Sanapur,” Arasiddi said.
“Two of them are foreigners, an American [man], and another a woman from Israel.”
Police have arrested two of the men accused of the attack and an investigation is ongoing, Arasiddi said. Police believe the men followed the group.
The US State Department said it was “aware of reports that a US citizen was among a group of victims of violent crime” near Hampi.
According to witness testimony from one of the women, the group was stargazing near a temple in Sanapur when three men arrived on a motorcycle and asked them where they could get petrol.
As one member of the group gave them directions, one of the three men demanded 100 rupees ($1.29) from the tourists.
“Since the homestay operator did not know them, she told them they had no money,” police said.
“When the men repeatedly insisted, one of the male tourists gave them 20 rupees.
“After that, the three men allegedly started arguing.”
The body of one of the male tourists was later found in the Tungabhadra canal in Karnataka’s Koppal district.
A case has been registered at Gangavathi Rural Police Station under sections related to extortion, robbery, gang rape and attempted murder.
The victims are receiving medical treatment at a government hospital, the police said.
Hampi, an ancient village in the south Indian state of Karnataka, is home to numerous ruins and temples from the Vijayanagara Empire. It was declared as a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1986.
In a post on X, Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah wrote: “The attack and rape of an Israeli citizen and homestay owner is 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.
“The police have arrested two accused in connection with the case and are continuing the investigation.”
Attacks on women in India gained international attention last year after the brutal rape-homicide of a junior doctor at a hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata.
The attack sparked national outrage and protests over a lack of safety for women.
