A court in Karnataka's Gangavathi has handed the death penalty to three convicts involved in the rape of a foreign woman near Hampi and the murder of a foreign tourist -- a case that had created nationwide outrage. On February 6, the First Additional District and Sessions Court had found all three accused guilty. Pronouncing the sentence on February 16, Judge Sadananda Nagappa Naik ordered capital punishment for the convicts. The three men identified as Mallesh alias Handimall, Sai and Sharanappa have now been sentenced to death for their involvement in the brutal crime.
Crime near Hampi world heritage site
The case revolved around the rape of an Israeli woman and the murder of an American tourist near the globally known heritage destination Hampi. The nature of the assault and the violent killing had sparked widespread anger and demands for stringent punishment.
Know all about the case?
Earlier on February 6, a court in Koppal district had convicted all three accused in the gang rape of two women, including a foreign national and the killing of a male tourist near Hampi. The court is scheduled to pronounce the sentence on February 16, after hearing the convicts, police sources said. The incident occurred in March last year, near the Tungabhadra Left Bank Canal in Sanapura, close to world heritage site Hampi.
According to police, the three who had been convicted had approached the two women survivors, an Israeli tourist and a home stay operator, and three other male tourist friends on the night of March 6, 2025, demanding for money. When the money was denied, the trio allegedly attacked by pushing three men tourists into the canal and sexually assaulted the two women -- Israeli tourist and the homestay operator.
Two men among those pushed into the canal had managed to swim to safety, while a tourist from Odisha had drowned in the canal. The court later convicted Mallesh, Sai and Sharanappa for offences, including murder, gang rape, rape, attempt to murder, and robbery, under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), police added
