THE first pictures of the suspects accused of gang-raping a female tourist and her host while stargazing in India have been released.
The 27-year-old woman was on a stargazing trip with her host and three male travellers when three men attacked the group.
Two of the suspects accused of gang raping a female tourist and her female host[/caption]
The group were stargazing next to the canal when the attack happened[/caption]
The three male travellers were thrown into the canal[/caption]
The women were brutally beaten and raped before the attackers fled the scene.
The Indian guesthouse owner 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 recalled her horrifying cries and screams as the gang fled.
Police chief Ram L Arasiddi said the sick assault began when the host took her four guests – the Israeli women, two Indian men, and another man from the US – stargazing near the canal in Koppal.
The three suspects then arrived on a motorbike and approached the group.
They first asked where they could get petrol – before demanding money from the victims.
And then they attacked, hurling the three men into a canal – killing one of the Indian travellers.
The other men managed to swim to safety.
The gang then attacked the two women, beating and sexually assaulting them, before fleeing on the motorbike.
Both women – the Israeli tourist and her Indian hostess – are continuing to recover in hospital after the assault on Thursday.
Police arrested two of the suspects over the sex attack and the killing on Saturday.
The third remained at large until Sunday when the police arrested him after looking through CCTV from the area where the attack happened.
Two of the men in custody have been named by the police as Sai Chetan and Mallesh.
The two men are reportedly residents of the Gangavathi region.
India has been left shocked by the disturbing attack in Karnataka in the country’s south.
The state’s chief minister Siddaramaiah said: “Our government is committed to providing protection to everyone, including tourists, coming to the state.
“All necessary measures will be taken to ensure that such incidents do not recur.”
Disturbing spread of sexual violence in India
SEXUAL assaults on women have become disturbingly familiar in India.
Police recorded 31,516 rape cases in 2022, a 20% increase from 2021, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.
The real figure is believed to be far higher due to the stigma surrounding sexual violence and victims lack of faith in police.
Rape and sexual violence have been under the spotlight since the brutal 2012 gang rape and killing of a 23-year-old student on a New Delhi bus.
The attack galvanized massive protests and inspired lawmakers to order the creation of fast-track courts dedicated to rape cases and stiffen penalties.
The rape law was amended in 2013, criminalizing stalking and voyeurism and lowering the age at which a person can be tried as an adult from 18 to 16.
The government in 2018 approved the death penalty for people convicted of raping children under age 12.
Despite stringent laws, its rare for more than a few weeks to pass without another brutal sexual assault being reported.
High-profile cases involving foreign visitors have drawn international attention to the issue.
Last year, in a video that was later deleted, a Spanish tourist said his wife was raped in northern India.
And meanwhile, an Indian-American woman said she was raped at a hotel in New Delhi.
In 2022, a British tourist was raped in front of her partner in Goa.
Information about the attack spread quickly on WhatsApp groups.
According to a local home stay group about 400 people, mainly Israelis, have left the area since Friday.
One Israeli traveller, 21, told Indian media that she and her friends were “concerned” for their safety following the news and decided to check out of their guest house.
Another tourist, a 23-year-old also from Israel, said his group decided not to leave their accommodation at night out of fear of another attack.
Koppal is located in the Karnataka region.
The region is a popular tourist destination and is home to four UNESCO sites.
