Days after two women including an Israeli tourist were gang raped near UNESCO World Heritage Site Hampi, locals said they were initially told that the group was robbed but came to know about the gang rape a day later.
Speaking to The Indian ExpressRavi Sanapur, a representative of a local homestay owners’ group, said he received a call around 11.30 pm on March 6 from the resort in which the victims had taken shelter to save their lives.
Sanapur said, “I was initially told that the group was robbed while they were stargazing near a canal close to Sanapur Lake. I immediately informed the Gangavathi rural police and rushed to the spot. After I reached the resort, the women said that they had been robbed and three men accompanying them were pushed into the canal. While two managed to swim, one Bibash was missing.”
“I called about 20 locals in the night to search for the missing man but there was no result. On Friday, we came to know that the women were gang raped. Maybe, the victims were not comfortable sharing the ordeal they went through. It was only on Saturday that we found the body of the missing man,” he added. Bibash’s head was hit with a stone leading to his death.
The police nabbed one Sai Chetan and Mallesh, residents of the Gangavathi region, after going through CCTV footage taken near the spot. Another youth has also been nabbed but the police have not revealed his identity yet.
A police officer said the youth had attempted chain snatching 10 days before the incident, but the victims did not file a complaint. “Had they complained, this incident (gang rape) could have been averted,” he added.
Speaking about the accused, the police said that all of them were construction workers and were suspected to have been under the influence of substances at the time of the crime.
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Mallikarjuna, a senior citizen, said that a couple – an Indian priest and a foreign national – were murdered in the 1990s, and after that the area had not witnessed such a crime.
While the gang rape came as an unexpected shocker, local homestay and guesthouse owners have been cautioning foreign nationals to not venture out during the night.
“There have been incidents of leopard attacks in recent years and even sloth bears are very common. We, therefore, asked foreign nationals not to step out in the dark. The local villagers won’t engage in any crime, but it is outsiders who commit pickpocketing and other crimes here,” Sanapur said.
Anil Hanumenahalli, a homestay owner, said they don’t encourage star gazing at isolated places during the night. “There are some high-end resorts that attract foreign tourists in the name of star gazing but they do it inside their property. Some of the outsiders who are running homestays take foreigners out for star gazing to compete with high-end resorts. But the reason why we don’t encourage it is because of the threat from leopards and sloth bears,” he added.
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The Gangavathi rural police have registered a case under Sections 309(6) (robbery and voluntarily causes hurt), 311 (dacoity), 64(L) (while committing rape causes grievous bodily harm or maims or disfigures or endangers the life of a woman), and 70 (1) (gang rape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
On Sunday, the police brought two accused to the crime spot to collect more details regarding the case.
