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Four days after the rape of a 27-year-old Israeli woman and a guesthouse owner in Karnataka, India, the victim is expected to board a flight to Israel on Monday. Meanwhile, Indian police named the third suspect in the gang rape and murder case as Kasiram.
The suspect was arrested after fleeing to Tamil Nadu. Two other suspects, Mallesh and Chetan Sai Sillekyatar, were arrested the previous day and their photos were published by the local police.
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Scene of the attack in India
(Video: Reuters)
The Karnataka’s interior minister vowed to significantly increase security measures at the tourist destination following the attack. He also said that tourists arriving in the state would receive safety briefings to ensure their well-being.
The brutal incident took place last Thursday when the Israeli woman and the guesthouse owner were traveling with two Americans and an Indian tourist near the village of Sanapur in Karnataka.
According to the guesthouse owner’s testimony, as they were stargazing and playing the guitar, three suspects approached and demanded money. When they refused, the attackers assaulted the three men accompanying the women and threw them into a canal. One of the men drowned.
According to the police complaint filed after the rape and murder, the assailants threatened to crush the men's heads with stones before throwing them into the canal and then raped the two women. In the water, American tourist Daniel Pittas managed to grab the hand of Pankaj Amrit Rao Patil and swam with him to the canal’s edge despite the strong current.
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The third man, identified as a traveler named Bibash, was swept downstream. The survivors only saw his broken watch floating on the water. They returned to the spot where they had been attacked and found the two women. "They were devastated, crying, with terror on their faces," one of the survivors recalled. The group then made their way back to the guesthouse and later filed a complaint with the police.
The guesthouse owner, who also reported the attack to police, described the events leading up to the assault. "After dinner, we decided to go stargazing. We rode our scooters to the banks of the Tungabhadra Canal, near Sanapur Lake. As we were watching the stars and playing the guitar, around 10:30 p.m., three men on a motorcycle approached us and asked for fuel," she said.
She told them that there was no gas station nearby and suggested they find fuel in Sanapur. According to her testimony, one of the men suddenly demanded 100 rupees. "They didn’t know us, so I told them I had no money. But they kept demanding, until one of the male tourists gave them 20 rupees."
When the travelers refused to give them more money, the suspects began arguing and threatening them with stones. Two of them then attacked and raped the women, while the third pushed the men into the canal and assaulted the guesthouse owner with stones. "I was bleeding heavily. Two of the suspects dragged me to the side of the canal. One of them choked me and removed my clothes. One after the other, they beat me and raped me," she said.
The attackers stole her bag and fled with two mobile phones and 9,500 rupees. One of the men dragged the Israeli tourist away and raped her as well. "When we screamed and cried, they fled on their motorcycle," she recounted.