A sessions court in Karnataka’s Koppal district on Monday, February 16, handed out a death sentence to three men convicted of the gang rape of two women, including an Israeli national, and the murder of a male tourist near Hampi last year.
The First Additional District and Sessions Court in Gangavathi, presided over by Judge Sadananda Nagappa Naik, awarded capital punishment to Mallesh alias Handimalla, Sai and Sharanappa after convicting them of rape, murder and related offences. They were convicted on February 6.
A death penalty has to be upheld by the Karnataka High Court. It is awarded when a case is considered ‘rarest of rare’.
The crime took place on the night of March 6, 2025, near Sanapura, close to Hampi, along the Tungabhadra Left Bank Canal. According to investigators, the victims — a 27-year-old Israeli tourist, a 29-year-old homestay operator and three male tourists from the United States, Odisha and Maharashtra — had gone stargazing near Sanapur Lake, about four kilometres from the UNESCO World Heritage site.
The complaint filed by the homestay owner stated that the three accused arrived on a motorcycle and initially asked for directions to a petrol pump. They then allegedly demanded money from the group. When the tourists refused, the situation escalated.
Police said the attackers assaulted the group and pushed the three male tourists into the canal. While two of them managed to swim to safety and were later hospitalised, one tourist drowned. His body was recovered the following morning, leading to the inclusion of a murder charge in the case.
Police launched a manhunt soon after the attack and arrested the three accused within days.