Aware of the adverse impact of the horrific rape of a foreign national and a domestic homestay owner in Koppal on tourism, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Sunday said security will be stepped up at all tourist attractions in the state. The government will also be coming out with a detailed advisory for the tourists, containing the dos and don’ts to help them stay safer.

The ghastly incident, in which three inebriated youth, attacked a group of domestic and foreign tourists stargazing on the banks of Tungabhadra left bank canal—attacking three men and throwing into the canal before raping two women, an Israeli tourist and a domestic homestay owner—has left people shocked.

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The murder and rape took place on Thursday night on the road to Jangli village, near Sanapura Lake—a tourist destination in Gangavathi taluk—adjacent to Tungabhadra’s left bank canal, located some 350 km from Bengaluru.

While the American and Maharashtrian tourists climbed out of the canal, another tourist, Bidash, could not be found and later his body was recovered.

The incident has not only shaken up the people at large, but has also damaged the image of Karnataka as one of the peaceful tourism destinations in the country.

Disturbed by the incident and its negative impact, the government reacted swiftly. State Home Minister Parameshara told media persons that the government has taken the matter seriously and decided to increase security at all tourist spots in the state.

“The state will reassess security measures and strengthen them at tourist places like Hampi. Moving forward, tourists visiting Karnataka will be briefed on the dos and don’ts to ensure their safety,” Parameshwara said.

Violent crime undoubtedly has an adverse impact on tourism, the minister said. “On the one hand, we are trying to attract tourists from across the world, while on the other, incidents like this deter them from visiting our country,” Parameshwara said.

Chief Minister S Siddaramaiah said his government was committed to ensuring the safety of tourists coming to the state. It is a heinous crime and the state government will take all steps to ensure that such incidents do not recur, he said.

“My government is committed to ensuring the safety of everyone, including tourists visiting Karnataka. We will take necessary measures to ensure that no such incidents occur in the coming days,” he said in a post on X.

In the Hampi incident, the police have already arrested two of the accused, while a manhunt is underway for the third. According to local police, the trio had abused the group in Kannada and Telugu languages.

The victims later told police that the trio first attacked and pushed the men into the lake and later gang-raped the foreign tourist and the homestay owner. “Efforts are on to catch the third culprit,” said Ram L Arasiddi, the Koppal SP, under whose jurisdiction the area falls.

“Mallesh alias Handi Mallesh Ayyappa Dasara, a construction worker from Gangavathi Sainagar, and Chetan Sai Kameshwara Rao have been arrested, while efforts are underway to arrest the third accomplice,” the police officer said.

According to the officer, the accused had demanded money from the tourists, and when they refused, they attacked the group. During interrogation, the arrested accused confessed to raping both the Israeli tourist and the local homestay owner, a young woman.