New Delhi: The killing of 26-year-old Odisha tourist Bibhas Nayak in last year’s Hampi rape-murder case – which also saw the gang rape of two women, including a foreign tourist – ended on Monday with a death sentence for three convicts. A Karnataka court described the crime as among the “rarest of rare,” according to media reports.
The verdict brings judicial closure to a case that had sparked widespread outrage in Odisha, where Nayak’s death was deeply mourned.
The first additional district and sessions court in Koppal pronounced capital punishment after convicting the men for the attack near Sanapura Lake in Gangavathi taluk, around 25 kilometres from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hampi.
Nayak was accompanying two women and two other male travellers when the group was assaulted while stargazing near the Tungabhadra Left Bank Canal. During the attack, Nayak was killed, the women were sexually assaulted, and the assailants robbed the group before fleeing.
Police said two of the accused were apprehended within 24 hours. The investigation relied on over 100 witness statements and extensive forensic evidence.
