Death penalty for three men found guilty of the gang rape of two women and the murder of a 26-year-old man was imposed by a court in India. The attack occurred on a group of five people who were stargazing near the archaeological site of Hampi, a UNESCO World Heritage monument, in Karnataka state.
As the report states, the case once again highlighted the chronic problem of violence against women in the world’s most populous country. According to the latest available official data, 29,670 rapes were recorded in India in 2023. India applies the death penalty by hanging, although it is rarely carried out in practice. The last executions took place in March 2020, when four men who had been convicted for the gang rape and murder of a woman on a bus in New Delhi in 2012 were hanged, in a case that had sparked massive protests across the country.
Gang rape and murder in India: the chronicle of horror
According to the Daily Mail, the attack took place in March of last year in a village in southern India, when the three perpetrators attacked a group of five people who were in the area for stargazing. The group consisted of two Indian nationals from Maharashtra and Odisha states, an American tourist, an Israeli tourist, and a resident of the Koppal area who was hosting the tourists.
The incident occurred in the wider Hampi area, a popular destination known for its rocky hills and extensive temple ruins. According to reports, the three men approached the group demanding money. They then raped the Israeli tourist and the accommodation host, while pushing the three men in the group into a canal.
Two of the men managed to swim and save themselves, however the 26-year-old from Odisha, Bhibas Nayak, drowned.
In fact, according to his relatives, Nayak died trying to protect the other members of the group.
On Monday, a regional court judge imposed the death penalty on the three convicted men for the charge of homicide, as well as prison sentences for other crimes, including rape. According to NDTV network, the convicted were identified as Mallesh, also known as Handimalla, Sai and Saranapa.
“When we were screaming and crying, the three fled on their motorcycle”
Their crime ranks among the rarest, the local judge reportedly stated, as broadcast by the network. The sentence must be confirmed by the Karnataka State High Court and may be subject to appeal.
The Indian woman who suffered the attack had declared to Indian media at the time: “I was bleeding heavily. Two of the perpetrators grabbed me and dragged me to the edge of the canal. One of them was choking me and removing my clothes. One after the other they were hitting me and raping me.” She also mentioned that the Israeli woman was taken away by one of the men, before he raped her. “When we were screaming and crying, the three fled on their motorcycle,” she added.
The attack caused panic, with hundreds of terrified visitors who were at the UNESCO World Heritage site in northern Karnataka leaving the area.
