A male tourist from Odisha, who was attacked and pushed into the Tungabhadra left bank canal by three unidentified assailants, was found dead on Saturday, March 8, two days after the incident near Hampi in Karnataka. Search teams recovered the body of 26-year-old Bibhash and have sent the body for an autopsy. Bibhash was with four others – an American tourist Daniel, a Nashik-based tourist Pankaj, an Israeli woman, and a local homestay owner (a woman)– when they were attacked by three men on the night of March 6.
The attackers assaulted the three men and pushed them into the canal, and the two women – the 27-year-old Israeli tourist and the 29-year-old homestay owner – were raped by them. Daniel and Pankaj managed to swim ashore, and they have been hospitalised.
The Gangavathi Rural Police had earlier registered a case of gang rape, robbery, assault, and attempt to murder against the unidentified perpetrators. All three accused are absconding.
According to the police, the group had ventured out for stargazing on Thursday night and travelled on scooters to the left bank of the Tungabhadra canal near the Durgamma Gudi temple close to Sanapur Lake. Around 10.30 pm, they were confronted by three men, reportedly speaking Kannada and Telugu and aged between 20 and 25 years. The men who had arrived on a motorcycle asked the tourists for Rs 100 to buy petrol. When the tourists declined to give them money, the men allegedly turned violent, assaulting them before pushing the three male tourists into the canal. As the men struggled to stay afloat, the attackers allegedly raped the two women before fleeing with Rs 9,500 in cash and two mobile phones.
The local homestay owner told the police that while they were crying for help, the attackers escaped on their motorcycle. Daniel managed to rescue Pankaj, but Bibhash remained missing and his body was recovered on Saturday.
All three accused are absconding and police have launched a manhunt to track them down. Six police teams have been deployed to track them.
Speaking to the media, Koppal Superintendent of Police Ram L Arasiddi said, “The attackers were physically very aggressive despite the group outnumbering them. We suspect a local gang’s involvement, and efforts are underway to track them down.”