India's Legacy Of A Accepted Culture Of Gang Rape Continues as two teenage cousins found hung after assault

[link to www.dailytimes.com.pk]
Two teenage girls have been found hanging from a tree in a northern Indian village after they were gang-raped by five men, police said Thursday, in a brutal attack highlighting the country’s poor record on sexual violence.
Police have arrested one man over the attack on the cousins, aged 14 and 15 and from the lowest Dalit caste, who were discovered hanging on Wednesday morning in Budaun district of Uttar Pradesh state. A post-mortem report indicated the cousins hanged themselves late Tuesday after being attacked, police said. The girls had earlier walked into a field to go to the toilet because they didn’t have one in their home when they were set upon, according to local media reports.
“The report suggests ante-mortem hanging, which means the girls probably committed suicide. But we will take into account all aspects before coming to a conclusion,” Atul Saxena, Budaun police chief, told AFP. The attack sparked protests by the girls’ families and other villagers, who accused police of failing to act after the bodies were found. Television footage showed the villagers including children sitting on the ground under the tree in protest with the bodies hanging above. The families belong to the Dalit caste, previously known as “untouchables”, considered on the lowest rung of India’s deeply entrenched social hierarchy system

more in link