Two men have been arrested in India in connection with the alleged rape of an Israeli and a local woman.

The Israeli woman and her homestay operator were said to be stargazing with three male travellers in Koppal town in southern Karnataka state on Thursday night.

Police said three men on a motorbike approached them and asked for money. After an argument, the men pushed the male travellers into a nearby canal before sexually assaulting the two women.

Ram L Arasiddi, a local police official, said one of travellers had drowned and his body was recovered on Saturday. The other two men swam to safety, he said.

Koppal is about 217 miles (350 kilometres) from Bengaluru. Arasiddi said police had set up a special investigation team that arrested two of the suspects on Saturday. They were being investigated on suspicion of attempted murder, gang-rape and robbery, he said.

Sexual assaults on women have become a prominent issue 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 much higher given the stigma surrounding sexual violence and victims’ lack of faith in police.