Bengaluru: The sessions court in Gangavathi has awarded death penalty for three accused in gang rape of two woman, including a tourist from Israel and murdering another tourist, who was with the woman.
Judge Hands Down Capital Punishment
The three accused have been identified as Mallesh alias Handi Mallesh, Sharana Basava and Chethan Sai. Terming the incident as the rarest of the rare cases, the Session Judge at Gangavathi court Sadananda Nagappa Nayak awarded them the capital punishment.
Tourists Pushed into Canal, Pelted with Stones
On March 6, 2025, a group of tourists, who were staying in a Home Stay at Sanapura, falling under Gangavathi police station limits, were walking near the Sanapura lake, which is part of the Hampi World Heritage Center. The three accused accosted them and pestered them to give money. When the tourists and home stay owner refused to give money, they started beating up the three foreign tourists and pushed them into the Tungabhadra canal, which was flowing nearby. They also pelted stones at them, so that they could not come out. While two of the tourists managed to get back from the water, the third one drowned and died.
Then, the three took turns to rape the Israeli tourist and the home stay owner, who was accompanying them.
The Gangavathi police arrested both Mallesh and Chethan Sai immediately, Sharan Basappa, who went absconding, was arrested three days later at Chennai Railway station.
Prosecution Recounts Horrific Sequence of Events
While presenting the case before the court, the Public Prosecutor Nagalakshmi said that the Indian Home Stay owner had taken the group of tourists for a walk around the lake at around 10.30 pm. The convicted persons came on a motorcycle and started threatening them for money. Then, they beat up the male tourists and pushed them into the canal. Then two of them sexually assaulted the home stay owner and the other raped the Israeli tourist.
The incident had created a furore in the State and the number of foreign tourists visiting Hampi had drastically come down after the incident. Meanwhile, Koppal Congress MP K Rajashekhar Hitnal raked up a controversy by terming the incident as `trivial issue' blown out of proportion.
