Third accused arrested in tourist rape, murder case in Koppal
Koppal (Karnataka), Mar 9 (PTI): Karnataka Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi said on Sunday that the third accused in the tourist rape case in Koppal district had been arrested.
Two women, including a 27-year-old Israeli tourist, were allegedly gang-raped and assaulted while stargazing near Hampi, police said on Saturday. The incident occurred on March 6.
Tangadagi stated that three individuals were involved in the crime. While two were arrested on March 8, the third accused was apprehended on Sunday.
"Three people were involved in this horrific crime, which should never have happened. Two were arrested yesterday, and the third was caught today," said Tangadagi, who is also the Koppal district in-charge minister.
He added that he has instructed the police to enhance security for tourists to prevent such incidents in the future.
According to police, the third accused was arrested in Tamil Nadu, where he had fled after the crime.
Earlier, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said, on the night of March 6, two foreign nationals, including an Israeli citizen, along with two others, went out for stargazing on the banks of the Tungabhadra canal.
Three youths approached the group and asked for directions to a petrol pump. When the tourists expressed their unawareness, the youths robbed them.
One of the tourists had a verbal altercation with the strangers, and in a fit of anger, the men pushed the tourists into the canal. Three of the tourists managed to escape and the fourth from Odisha went missing. Later, Bibash’s body was recovered, he said.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
