Wednesday, February 18 2026 -An Indian court has handed de@th sentences to three men convicted of r@ping two women and k!lling a man near a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The men had attacked a group of five people as they were
stargazing in a village in south India in March of last year, according to
media reports.
The group included two Indian nationals from Maharashtra and
Odisha, an American tourist, an Israeli tourist, and a Koppal local woman who
was hosting the tourists.
They were in the area of Hampi, which is popular with
visitors, known for rocky hillocks and sprawling temple ruins.
According to reports, the three men approached the group
demanding money before r@ping the Israeli tourist and her homestay host and
pushing the three men into a canal. Two of the men managed to swim to safety
while the man from Odisha, identified as Bhibas Nayak, 26, tragically drowned.
A district court judge handed the three convicted assailants
the de@th sentence on Monday over the murder charge, as well as prison terms
for other offences, including r@pe.
The convicts were identified as Mallesh alias Handimalla,
Sai, and Sharanappa, according to NDTV news network.
Their crime fell under 'the rarest of rare category', the
network quoted the judge as saying.
The public prosecutor in charge of the case said: 'Hence,
the Judge Sadananda Nagappa Naik under section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyay
Sanhita gave them capital punishment. For the gang r@pe, the court ordered
imprisonment till their last breath.'
The sentencing must be ratified by the Karnataka state's
high court, and can still be appealed.
At the time of the incident, the local woman attacked told
Indian media: 'I was bleeding heavily. Two of the attackers joined forces and
dragged me to the side of the canal. One of them strangled me and removed my
clothes. One after another, they beat me and r@ped me.'
She said the Israeli woman was dragged away by one of the
men before he r@ped her.
She added: 'When we screamed and cried, the three fled on
their motorcycle.'
The horrifying attack reportedly caused hundreds of
terrified holidaymakers visiting the UNESCO World Heritage site in northern
Karnataka to flee.
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