Police in India arrested two men after an American national alleged she was drugged and sexually assaulted at a homestay in the southern state of Karnataka.
The woman was staying at a homestay in the Kutta village, a hilly region in the southwest of Karnataka, when the incident took place last week.
Police told The Independent on Wednesday that the tourist was assaulted by a worker at the property, while the homestay owner was accused of attempts to suppress the incident.
A formal complaint has been registered under relevant sections of the law, and both will remain in custody until 3 May. Officials said further investigation is underway.
The woman alleged that she was given a spiked drink by the homestay owner, after which she lost consciousness.
She accused a worker at the property of sexually assaulting her during that time. The victim also alleged that the owner failed to assist her in approaching the authorities and instead attempted to prevent her from seeking help.
Reports indicate that WiFi services at the property may have been deliberately shut off for several days, limiting her ability to communicate with the outside world.
The woman reportedly remained at the homestay for nearly three days before managing to leave, after convincing those at the property that she intended to continue her travels elsewhere in the state.
After leaving the premises, she contacted the US embassy in the capital Delhi, which then facilitated communication with Indian authorities.
Based on this, the police registered a case and initiated action. Police said forensic, medical, and other procedural examinations have been conducted as part of the probe.
The Independent has reached out to the US embassy in Delhi for a comment.
Reports of sexual assaults and rape are rampant in India. According to official data, police recorded 31,516 rape cases in 2022, a 20 per cent increase from 2021, which means India saw an average of almost 90 rapes reported daily and one woman was raped every 18 minutes. Yet the actual figure is believed to be much higher due to lack of reporting caused by the stigma surrounding sexual violence in the country.
On 6 March 2025, a 27-year-old Israeli tourist and a 29-year-old Indian homestay operator were gang-raped by three men near Hampi in Karnataka. The attackers also assaulted three male tourists, pushing them into a canal, which led to the death of a man from Odisha, while two others – including a US national – survived. In February 2026, a court in Karnataka sentenced the three men to death after convicting them of gang rape, murder and related offences.
In 2024, a Spanish-Brazilian woman was allegedly gang-raped by seven men during a motorbike tour in the Dumka district of the eastern state of Jharkhand. The incident came to light after the couple shared a video describing the attack and said the incident lasted two hours while her male partner was assaulted.
In 2013, a Swiss tourist was gang-raped in Madhya Pradesh, while in 2018 an Irish woman was assaulted in Goa, both cases prompting diplomatic engagement and calls for stricter safeguards.
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