Three males who gang-raped and murdered members of tour group which included US holidaymaker are sentenced to demise in India
An Indian court has issued death sentences against three men convicted of raping two women and killing a man near a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The men had attacked a group of five people as they were stargazing in a village in south India in March of last year, according to media reports at the time.
The group included two Indian nationals from Maharashtra and Odisha, an American tourist, an Israeli tourist, and a Koppal local woman who was hosting the tourists.
They were in the area of Hampi, which is popular with visitors, known for rocky hillocks and sprawling temple ruins.
According to reports, the three men approached the group demanding money before raping the Israeli tourist and her homestay host and pushing the three men into a canal.
Two of the men managed to swim to safety while the man from Odisha, identified as Bhibas Nayak, 26, tragically drowned.
A district court judge handed the three convicted assailants the death sentence on Monday over the murder charge, as well as prison terms for other offences including rape.
The convicts were identified as Mallesh alias Handimalla, Sai, and Sharanappa, according to NDTV news network.
Police conduct an investigation after the group of five were attacked on March 6, 2025
The convicts were identified as Mallesh alias Handimalla, Sai, and Sharanappa
The convicts were identified as Mallesh alias Handimalla, Sai, and Sharanappa
Their crime fell under ‘the rarest of rare category’, the network quoted the judge as saying.
The public prosecutor in charge of the case said: ‘Hence, the Judge Sadananda Nagappa Naik under section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita gave them capital punishment. For the gang rape, the court ordered imprisonment till their last breath.’
The sentencing must be ratified by the Karnataka state’s high court, and can still be appealed.
At the time of the incident, the local woman attacked told Indian media: ‘I was bleeding heavily. Two of the attackers joined forces and dragged me to the side of the canal. One of them strangled me and removed my clothes. One after another, they beat me and raped me.’
She said the Israeli woman was dragged away by one of the men before he raped her.
She added: ‘When we screamed and cried, the three fled on their motorcycle.’
The horrifying attack caused hundreds of terrified holidaymakers visiting the UNESCO World Heritage site in northern Karnataka to flee.
A police officer speaks on his mobile phone at the scene as they search for the male travelers who were pushed into the canal
Police officials search for the male travelers who were pushed into the canal
The case has highlighted chronic violence against women in the world’s most populous country, where 29,670 rapes were reported in 2023, according to latest available official data.
India imposes the death penalty by hanging, although it is rarely carried out in practice.
The last executions in India were in March 2020, when four men convicted of the 2012 gang rape and murder of a woman on a Delhi bus were hanged, in a case that sparked huge nationwide protests.
