Humpy: A Karnataka Court awarded the death sentence to three convicts for the horrific rape of an Israeli tourist and a homestay owner, as well as for the murder of another tourist in Karnataka’s Hampi last year. The court found them guilty earlier this month.
As per reports, on February 6, the First Additional District and Sessions Court in Gangavatgound the three – Mallesh alias Handimall, Sai and Sharanappa guilty. During the hearing, Judge Sadananda Nagappa Naik awarded the death sentence to them. The case dated back to March 6 last year. The incident took place when a group of tourists went out after dinner for stargazing near Sanapur Lake. The place was around four kilometres from the world heritage site.
What is the case?
The group consisted of an Israeli woman (27), a homestay owner (29) and three men, one of whom was from the United States. Other two were from Maharashtra and Odisha. The group was sitting on the bank of the Tungabhadra canal. They were playing the guitar and listening to music when three men arrived at the spot, riding a bike.
As per the complaint filed by the home stay owner, the bike-borne men asked for the direction of the nearest petrol pump, after which they started demanding money. The situation became tense when the group refused. The assailants then attacked the tourists and pushed the men in the canal.
The police said that as the men started struggling in the water, the accused started raping the homestay owner. Another dragged the Israeli woman and sexually assaulted her. The assailants then robbed them of their mobile and phone before escaping from the spot.
Odisha man dies in incident
While two men were hospitalised, the third man drowned. His body was recovered the next day. The brutality of the crime led to political reactions over the entire matter. The police soon launched the manhunt, and the accused were taken in custody. Notably, it was after 11 months of the incident that the accused were awarded capital punishment.