Bengaluru: Describing the gang rape of an Israeli tourist and a local homestay owner as a heinous act, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the Congress-led Karnataka government is committed to ensuring the safety of tourists.
Taking to social media X, CM Siddaramaiah stated, “The incident of assault and rape on an Israeli citizen and a homestay owner in Sanapur, Gangavati taluk, Koppal district, is a highly heinous act.”
“As soon as the incident was reported, I gathered information from the concerned police officials and directed them to conduct a strict investigation and swiftly apprehend the culprits. In connection with the case, the police have arrested two accused individuals and are continuing their investigation,” the CM said.
“Our government is committed to ensuring the safety of every individual, including tourists visiting the state. All necessary measures will be taken to prevent such incidents from recurring,” CM Siddaramaiah underlined.
Koppal SP Ram L Arasiddi stated in his latest statement on Saturday, “On the midnight of March 6 between 11 p.m. and 12 midnight, five citizens, two foreigners and three from India – of them three were men who were assaulted physically and two were women, who were assaulted sexually. Three men fell into the canal, two survived while the body of one, identified as Bebaas, was found today at the canal.”
“Based on the complaint given by the victim, an FIR was registered at the Gangavati Rural police station. Based on the information we had and local information, we arrested two persons today. One of them is Mallesha aka Handi Mallu and the other person is Chetan Sai, both belong to Sai Nagar in the Gangavathi town station,” he stated.
“The accused will be further interrogated and produced to the court. All procedures will be followed. If required, we will again take them for police custody,” the SP said.
“Regarding all four victims, they have been subjected to medical examination. Necessary treatment has been given to them. One more accused needs to be arrested. We have formed our teams and very soon he will also be arrested,” SP stated.
The incident took place on Thursday night when the homestay owner had taken female tourists from Israel, and the US, a male tourist from Odisha and the deceased to the banks of Tungabhadra Left Bank Canal near Sanapura village near Gangavathi town for stargazing.
When the tourists were stargazing on the banks of the Tungabhadra canal, the accused who came to the spot on a bike, approached them on the pretext of asking for petrol and started demanding money from them.
On refusal of money, they attacked the group with stones, pushed the others into the canal, and raped the women.
The 29-year-old homestay owner, one of the victims of the sexual assault, has filed a complaint with the police regarding the incident.
The preliminary investigations revealed that the accused approached the victims on the pretext of asking for money for petrol. The victims gave them Rs 20 and asked them to leave. However, the accused started an argument with them asking for Rs 100 and started assaulting them.
They attacked the tourists and locals, a group of five persons, with stones and hands. They had pushed three men into the canal and sexually assaulted two women, a female from Israel and a local homestay owner.
Two of the accused gang-raped the local homestay owner, while the Israeli national was raped by one of the accused, sources stated. More details are yet to emerge regarding the exact sequence of events and the nature of sexual assault.
The victims were not known to each other and became friends after their arrival at the homestay.
