rape fury in india

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Indian fury over rape hangings

| credits: AFP & CBC

Members of the All India Democratic Women’s Association marched Saturday through the streets of New Delhi, India’s capital, demanding the immediate arrest of the fugitive suspects and justice for the victims, reports www.cbc.ca.

“Enough is enough. Women will not tolerate such atrocities any longer,” the protesters chanted, asking state authorities to take crimes against women seriously.

Police arrested a third suspect and hunted for two others Saturday in the gang rape and slaying of two teenage cousins found hanging from a tree in northern India, a case that has prompted national outrage.

The three suspects detained in the attack in Uttar Pradesh state are cousins in their 20s from an extended family, and they face murder and rape charges, crimes punishable by the death penalty, said police officer N. Malik. Two fugitive suspects from the same village are also being sought, he said.

Facing growing criticism for a series of rapes, officials in Uttar Pradesh — which has a long reputation for lawlessness — also arrested two police officers and fired two others Friday for failing to investigate when the father of one of the teenage girls reported them missing earlier in the week.

India has a history of tolerance for sexual violence. But the gang rape, which was followed by TV footage of the corpses of the 14- and 15-year-old girls swaying as they hung from a mango tree, triggered outrage across the nation. The father who reported the girls missing, Sohan Lal, has demanded a federal probe.

“I don’t expect justice from the state government as state police officers shielded the suspects,” said Lal, a poor farm labourer who refused to accept a payment for 500,000 rupees ($8,500 US) offered by the state government as financial help. He told reporters Saturday that he would accept no help until the Central Bureau of Investigation, India’s FBI, takes over the investigation.