Koppal (Karnataka), Mar 8: A horrific incident of three persons committing gang rape on two women, a tourist from Israel, and a female local homestay owner and killing a male tourist from Odisha who was with them, came to light Saturday in Karnataka.

The incident was reported from the Gangavathi Rural police station located close to the UNESCO heritage site Hampi.

The accused pushed three other tourists who were with the two women into a nearby canal before targeting the females.

The rape victims are recovering at the hospital while the body of the tourist from Odisha was found in the Tungabhadra Left Canal near Sanapura village near Gangavathi town on Saturday.

The deceased tourist has been identified as 40-year-old Beebas.

The authorities had launched a search operation for him after the incident came to light.

The other two victims, who were also pushed into the water had managed to come back to the bank of the canal and saved their lives.

The incident had taken place on Thursday night when the homestay owner had taken the female tourists from Israel, America, a male tourist from Odisha and another person to the banks of Tungabhadra Left Bank Canal near Sanapura village near Gangavathi town for stargazing.

When the tourists were stargazing on the banks of the Tungabhadra canal, the accused who came to the spot on a bike, approached them on the pretext of asking for petrol and started demanding money from them.

After being refused money, they attacked the group with stones, pushed the others into the canal, and raped the women.

The 29-year-old homestay owner, one of the victims of the sexual assault, has filed a complaint with the police regarding the incident.

The accused have disappeared after committing the crime.

The police claim that they have identified the accused persons and two special teams have launched a hunt for them.

The police stated that medical tests have confirmed sexual assault on the victims.

Police sources state that the incident had taken place at 3 am in the morning and it has not come to the notice of the locals.

More details are yet to emerge regarding the incident. The police are also investigating whether the victims were high as they could not take on three persons even as they were five of them. Since the victims are in shock, the police are presently focussing on the nabbing the rapists.

(IANS)

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