3 get death penalty for gang-raping Israeli tourist, killing male tourist in Hampi

Three men found guilty of the horrifying rape of a foreign visitor and a homestay owner in 2025, as well as the murder of another visitor close to Hampi, have been sentenced to death by a Karnataka court.

On February 6, the Gangavathi First Additional District and Sessions Court convicted the three. The three accused, Mallesh alias Handimall, Sai, and Sharanappa, were given the death penalty by Judge Sadananda Nagappa Naik on Monday. The case began on the evening of March 6, 2025, when a group of tourists went stargazing near Sanapur Lake, which is around four kilometers away from the World Heritage Site, after dinner.

Three guys from the United States, Odisha, and Maharashtra were among the group, along with a 27-year-old Israeli woman and a 29-year-old homestay owner. Three men arrived on a motorcycle as they were seated by the Tungabhadra canal’s bank, enjoying some music and playing the guitar. The homestay owner later filed a complaint alleging that the men on bikes initially requested directions to a gas station before requesting payment.

The crisis worsened when the group refused. The three men were forced into the canal by the assailants, who also attacked the tourists.One of the accused pulled the Israeli woman away and sexually abused her, while two of the accused raped the guesthouse owner as the men fought in the water.

Two of the male tourists were taken to the hospital after they were able to swim to safety. But after the Odisha man perished and his body was found the following morning, the case was charged with murder.

Political leaders reacted sharply to the ferocity of the murder, which involved foreign nationals at a prominent tourist destination, and worries about visitor safety were rekindled. Soon after the event, police began a manhunt, and the suspects were taken into custody a few days later. The three defendants in the case were sentenced to death eleven months after the occurrence.