An Israeli tourist who was gang-raped on a stargazing trip in India screamed as she was dragged away and assaulted, another victim has revealed.
The 27-year-old woman from Israel was on a stargazing excursion near the canal in Koppal town in the southern Karnataka state on Thursday with her female host and three male travellers when three men attacked the group.
The three attackers threw the male travellers, an American and two Indians, into the canal, with police confirming that one of the tourists, an Indian man, drowned and that his body was recovered on Saturday, while the other two swam to safety.
Meanwhile, the Israeli woman and her host were brutally beaten and raped before the attackers fled the scene.
‘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,’ the Indian guesthouse owner told Indian media.
She said the Israeli woman was dragged away by one of the men before he raped her. She added: ‘When we screamed and cried, the three fled on their motorcycle.’
The horrifying attack has caused hundreds of terrified holidaymakers visiting the UNESCO World Heritage site in northern Karnataka to flee.
One Israeli traveller, 21, told Indian media that she and her friends were ‘concerned’ for their safety following the incident and decided to check out of their guest house to leave the area.
A police officer speaks on his mobile phone at the scene as they search for the male travelers who were pushed into the canal by three men accused of gang-raping two women
Two of the men in custody have also been pictured by police and named as Sai Chetan and Mallesh, both reportedly residents of the Gangavathi region
One of the tourists drowned and his body was recovered on Saturday
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.
‘The information about the gang rape spread like wildfire on WhatsApp groups and about 400 people, mainly Israelis, have left since March 7,’ a homestay host told local media.
The man added that he and other hosts are worried about their livelihoods as the attack could have lasting effects on tourism in the area.
Thursday’s attack saw the three suspects arrive on a motorbike around 10.30pm as the group of five was stargazing and playing the guitar, according to the female host.
The men asked the group for directions to a gas station, but the Indian woman told them there was no gas station nearby.
One of the men then demanded 100 rupees (less than £1). She said: ‘They didn’t know us, so I told them I didn’t have any money. But they kept demanding and demanding until one of the male tourists gave them 20 rupees (£0.18).’
An argument ensued when the tourists refused to give the men more money, with the suspects threatening the group before pushing the men into the canal and hitting them with stones as well as raping and beating the women.
The host said that the attackers stole her bag and fled with two mobile phones and 9,500 rupees (£85).
Police identified the man who died after being pushed into the canal as Bhibas Nayak, 26, and the surviving Indian man who swam to safety as a Maharashtra resident named Pankaj
Police identified the man who died after being pushed into the canal as Bhibas Nayak, 26, and the surviving Indian man who swam to safety as a Maharashtra resident named Pankaj.
A special investigation team arrested two of the suspects on suspicion of attempted murder, gang rape and robbery on March 8.
The third remained at large until March 9, when police also took him into custody after looking through CCTV from the area where the attack happened.
Two of the men in custody have also been pictured by police and named as Sai Chetan and Mallesh, both reportedly residents of the Gangavathi region.
The incident has left the country reeling as Karnataka state President B.Y. Vijayendra dubbed the authorities ‘delusional and indifferent’.
‘Our government is committed to providing protection to everyone, including tourists, coming to the state’, he said, adding that measures will be put in place to prevent future attacks.
The chief minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah said: ‘The horrific attack and rape of an Israeli citizen and a guesthouse owner are heinous crimes.’
While Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not address the gang rape attack directly, he said in a statement on International Women’s Day on the weekend: ‘When a daughter comes home late, her parents ask questions. But they do not ask similar questions when a son comes home late.
‘Over the past decade, we have prioritized women’s safety and security. To stop crimes against women, we have changed laws and established the death penalty for heinous acts like rape.’
Instances of rape and sexual violence have been under scrutiny since the gang-rape and killing of 23-year-old student Jyoti Singh (pictured) on a New Delhi bus in 2012
Jyoti’s case horrified India and sparked nationwide protests – such as here on December 23, 2012 in New Delhi – but despite this initial outrage and anger, ten years on, hundreds of women in India are still being raped and murdered every day
Sexual assaults on women have become more commonplace in India, where police recorded more than 31,000 cases of rape in 2022 – a 20 per cent increase from 2021, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.
It is thought the true figure may be higher still due to the stigma surrounding sexual violence.
Instances of rape and sexual violence have been under scrutiny since the gang-rape and killing of 23-year-old student Jyoti Singh on a New Delhi bus in 2012.
The attack sparked mass protests and prompted legislators to create fast-track courts for rape cases, and harsher penalties.
The rape law was amended in 2013 to criminalise stalking and voyeurism, and to lower the age at which a person can be tried as an adult from 18 to 16.
In 2018, the government approved the use of the death penalty for people convicted of raping children under the age of 12.
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, while 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.
