Tourists leave India temple town after gang rape-murder

Hundreds of foreign tourists have left a Unesco heritage site in southern India in the past few days after two women - an Israeli tourist and an Indian homestay owner - were gang-raped and a man was murdered.

The three were stargazing with two other male tourists near the town of Hampi in Karnataka state last Thursday when they were attacked by three men following an argument over money, police said.

All three suspects wanted in connection with the crime have been arrested.

The incident, which made global headlines, sparked fear among tourists and sent shockwaves through India.

Once the capital of the Hindu Vijayanagara kingdom, Hampi is described as an open-air museum, filled with magnificent stone ruins on the banks of Tungabhadra river. It was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1986.

Thursday's assault took place in Sanapur village, which is about 28km (17 miles) from the main ruins of Hampi.

Located on the other side of the river from Hampi, the village is "a very isolated area", says Ram Arasiddi, the superintendent of police of the district.

Many tourists, especially from Israel and Europe, who visit Hampi stay at Sanapur, which also has towering ruins and a famous Hindu temple.

"Overall, about 100,000 or more foreign tourists visit the area every year,'' says Virupaksha V Hampi, general secretary of the Karnataka tourist guides' association.

However, since the news of the attack, most visitors have either cancelled bookings or left.

"Almost 90% of the tourists, most of whom are Israelis, have vacated homestays and left the area after Thursday," Syed Ismael, a tour guide, told BBC Hindi.

Mr Ismael added that those who were staying had been advised to move in groups and avoid venturing too far out.

Some said they've had to make last-minute changes to their plans.

"The incident is really scary and we are concerned about our safety. We had plans to stay here until [the Hindu festival of] Holi, but now we will be heading to Rajasthan state," Talia Zilber, a 21-year-old Israeli tourist, told The Indian Express newspaper. Mr Zilber left the guest house where he was staying with his five friends on Sunday.

State minister Shivaraj Tangadagi has also cautioned people against travelling late at night in the area.

According to one survivor's testimony, the group was stargazing near a temple when three men arrived on a motorcycle and asked where they could get petrol.

They gave them directions but the men then demanded 100 rupees ($1.15; £0.90) from them.

The group initially refused as they didn't know the men, but one male tourist eventually gave them 20 rupees.

The men then began arguing with the tourists which led to a confrontation.

The attackers pushed the three men into a nearby river canal before raping the women, Mr Arasiddi said on Saturday.

Two men swam to safety while the third, from Odisha state, drowned.

Police say they have filed a case for attempted murder, robbery and rape based on the survivors' testimony.

Two suspects were arrested on Saturday while a third man was arrested from neighbouring Tamil Nadu state on Sunday. He is being brought to Karnataka on Monday.

Violent crimes against women continue in India despite tough laws. The 2012 gang rape and murder of a medical student by a group of men in the capital Delhi drew global attention and triggered large-scale protests.

The incident prompted authorities to introduce stricter rape laws in 2013. Yet, tens of thousands of cases are reported each year. The National Crime Records Bureau reported nearly 32,000 rapes in India in 2022.

Experts believe many rapes go unreported because of social stigma, distrust of police and lack of confidence in the justice system.

In 2023, public outrage followed the alleged gang rape of a Brazilian-Spanish tourist in Jharkhand state. The victim and her husband shared their ordeal on Instagram, but later removed their posts.

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