According to the police.
The two women – an Israeli tourist and an Indian reception operator – were in confrontation with three male tourists near a lake in Hampi, Karnataka, when they were attacked by a group of men on Thursday evening, police superintendent Ram Arasiddi told Reuters.
Arasiddi said the attackers had pushed men into the tungabhadra river channel before raping women.
Two of the men, one of them American, survived, and the third man’s body was found on Saturday morning, he said.
“Five people – two women and three men – were attacked near Sanapur,” said Arasiddi.
“Two of them are foreigners, an American (man) and another one woman from Israel.”
Police arrested two of the men accused of the attack and an investigation is underway, said Arasiddi.
Police think that the men followed the group.
According to the testimony of one of the women, the group marked near a temple in Sanapur when three men arrived on a motorcycle and asked them where they could obtain gas.
As a member of the group gave them instructions, one of the three men required 100 rupees ($ 1.29) of tourists.
“Since the resident operator did not know them, she told them that they had no money,” the police said.
“When the men have insisted on several occasions, one of the male tourists gave them 20 rupees.
“After that, the three men would have started to argue.”
The body of one of the male tourists was later found in the Tungabhadra canal in the Koppal district of Karnataka.
A case was registered at the Gangavathi rural police station in sections related to extortion, qualified theft, gang rape and an attempted murder.
The victims receive medical treatment in a government hospital, police said.
Hampi, an ancient village in the state of southern Karnataka, is home to many ruins and temples of the Vijayanagara Empire. He was declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986.
In an article on X, the chief minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah wrote: “The attack and rape of an Israeli citizen and reception owner are a most odious act.
“As soon as the incident was reported, I obtained information from the police concerned, conducted an in -depth investigation and asked them to quickly identify the culprits.
“The police arrested two accused in the case and continues the investigation.”
Attacks on women in India drew international attention last year after the brutal rape of a junior doctor in a hospital in the east of the city of Kolkata.
The attack sparked national indignation and protests concerning a lack of security for women.
