Police are searching for clues in the case of an Indian woman who was raped, mutilated, and found dead in a field in Aithpura village on Saturday.
Autopsy results released Monday indicate that the woman was forced to drink acid and was strangled to death. Petrol and acid were poured on her face post-mortem to conceal her identity.
Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh—where the body was found—is only 60 miles from where two cousins were found hanging from a mango tree last week after being gang raped and strangled last week. The girls were 14 and 15 years old.
The woman found Saturday is believed to be around 22 years old, according to police.
On Monday, hundreds of Uttar Pradesh villagers protested the violence against women outside Uttar Pradesh State Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's office, and were sprayed with fire hoses by police officers.
Reuters reported that the cousins found hanged were from a "low-caste Dalit community," a historically-marginalized group that still faces injustices in Indian society. Missing person reports by the families were not filed by Budaun police officers, and many accused the police department of both inaction and protecting the suspects.
Three police officers were suspended for derelict of duty, and Budaun Superintendent of Police Man Singh Chouhan told reporters last week that two constables were facing conspiracy charges.
According to the Asian Centre for Human Rights, between 2001 and 2011 there was an average of over 4,800 child rape cases in India per year. Girls in low-caste communities are often targeted, and the cases overlooked.
All India Democratic Women's Association Vice President Jagmati Sangwan said that the likelihood of justice being served diminishes even further when law enforcement officials are the perpetrators.
"It's not easy when the police are involved. The women organizations will raise their voice if the administration does not take proper action," she told IBN Live.
