An Israeli woman and her Indian host were gang raped in southern India, police say

NEW DELHI (AP) — Police in southern India said Saturday that they arrested two men in connection with allegations of gang rape of an Israeli and a local woman.

The Israeli and her homestay operator were stargazing along with three male travelers, an American and two Indian, in Koppal town in southern Karnataka state on Thursday night, police official Ram L. Arasiddi said.

According to an initial investigation, three men on a motorbike approached them while asking for money. Following arguments, the three men pushed the male travelers into a nearby water canal and sexually assaulted the women, Arasiddi said.

He said one of the Indian tourists drowned and his body was recovered on Saturday, adding that the American and another Indian swam to safety.

Koppal is about 350 kilometers (217 miles) from Bengaluru, India’s startup and technology powerhouse.

Arasiddi said police set up a special investigation team that arrested two out of the three suspects on Saturday. They were being investigated on suspicion of attempted murder, gang rape and robbery, he said.

The Associated Press generally doesn’t identify victims of sexual assault.

Sexual assaults on women have become familiar in India, where police recorded 31,516 rape cases in 2022, a 20% increase from 2021, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. The real figure is believed to be far higher due to the stigma surrounding sexual violence and victims’ lack of faith in police.

Rape and sexual violence have been under the spotlight since the brutal 2012 gang rape and killing of a 23-year-old student on a New Delhi bus. The attack galvanized massive protests and inspired lawmakers to order the creation of fast-track courts dedicated to rape cases and stiffen penalties.

The rape law was amended in 2013, criminalizing stalking and voyeurism and lowering the age at which a person can be tried as an adult from 18 to 16. The government in 2018 approved the death penalty for people convicted of raping children under age 12.

Despite stringent laws, it’s rare for more than a few weeks to pass without another brutal sexual assault being reported.

High-profile cases involving foreign visitors have drawn international attention to the issue. Last year, in a video that was later deleted, a Spanish tourist said his wife was raped in northern India while an Indian-American woman said she was raped at a hotel in New Delhi. In 2022, a British tourist was raped in front of her partner in Goa.