A sessions court in Karnataka on Monday (February 16) sentenced three men to death for murdering an Indian tourist, gang raping a tourist from Israel and an Indian home stay owner, and assaulting and robbing an American tourist in Hampi in March last year. The convicts have been identified as Mallesh alias Handimalla, Sai, and Sharanappa, and the court held them guilty of multiple offences in the case that occurred.
The incident took place near the Tungabhadra Left Bank Canal in Sanapura, close to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hampi. Police said the three convicts approached the two women survivors, an Israeli tourist and a homestay operator, along with three male tourists on the night of March 6, 2025, demanding money. When the group refused, the trio as per a report by NDTV allegedly attacked by pushing the three male tourists into the canal and sexually assaulted the two women.
Two of the men who were pushed into the canal managed to swim to safety, while a tourist from Odisha drowned in the canal.
The death sentence was pronounced at the Gangavathi District and Sessions Court. The judge stated that the crime fell under the rarest of rare category, warranting the maximum punishment.
The brutal attack not only led to the loss of life but also traumatised survivors and travellers, and impacted perceptions of security around popular tourist destinations. Investigators and prosecutors had noted the violence and multiple offences, including murder, gang rape, attempt to murder and robbery, in their submissions to the court during trial.
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Sudhanshu Mishra is a Senior Copy Editor at Times Now. While his day-to-day work centres on news, his writing interests lie in the intersections of cu...View More
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