Israeli woman gang-raped, 3 Indians sentenced to death

A court in the Indian state of Karnataka has sentenced three people to death for gang-raping two women, including an Israeli tourist, and murdering a local youth. A court in Karnataka announced the verdict on Monday (February 16).

Citing local media, Israeli media outlet Jerusalem Post reported that the culprits have been given the maximum punishment for this brutal incident that took place in Koppal district in March this year. A total of five people were attacked in the incident. Among them were two Indian nationals from Maharashtra and Odisha, an American tourist, an Israeli tourist, and the owner of a homestay in Koppal, who was hosting the tourists.

On the day of the incident, the owner of the homestay went out to visit the tourist sites. At that time, the three accused—Mallesh (Handimalla), Saikumar, and Sharanvasvaraj—came up on the group on a motorcycle and talked about resolving a “financial dispute.” The matter soon turned into an argument and a clash.

The accused then pushed three male members of the tourist group into a nearby canal and gang-raped two women. They also threw stones at the men to prevent them from coming out of the canal. One of them died on the spot. The prosecution said that one of them was saved with the help of an American tourist, while the other drowned in the canal.

The Times of India reported that the accused were found guilty of gang-rape, murder, attempt to murder, robbery and extortion. The public prosecutor said that Judge Sadanand Nagappa Naik sentenced them to death for murder under Section 103 of the Indian Penal Code. He also ordered the three to serve imprisonment ‘till their last breath’ for the crime of gang-rape.