Assault: ‘Oz tourist was on a spiritual tour’

Australian tourist William Jones, who was brutally assaulted at Konkanakoppa village in Badami taluk late Monday night, had come to India on a one-year visa.

A senior police officer told DH, “A missionary in Australia, William Jones arrived in Kochi on Sept 27 to study yoga and spirituality at various places across India. With the help of a Dharwad-based guide, he visited Hampi, Hosapete and Vijayapura. He had come to Badami only on the day of the incident. His visa would expire in Sept 2020.”

The investigation officers are finding it tough to communicate with Jones, who speaks French and German, but not English. The officers are taking the help of a Dharwad guide to extract more details about Jones.

DySP Chandrakant Nandareddy told DH, “Jones is responding to treatment. n. The officials of the Australian consulate-general in Chennai are in touch with us.”