According to local sources, six persons have been detained by police in northern India in connection with the suspected rape and murder of two lower-caste girls who were discovered hanging from a tree.
The remains of the two girls, 15 and17, were discovered on Thursday in the Lakhimpur Kheri region of Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populous state.
"Four of the accused lured the girls to a field and raped them," local police official Sanjeev Suman told reporters.
According to Suman, a thorough investigation into the crime is still ongoing, but based on first findings, it seems that the girls were raped, strangled with a scarf, and then hanged from a tree.
In India, where many still adhere to an antiquated caste system, violence against women is rampant, especially among those from lower castes.
Local media stated that the family of the victims informed authorities that the two girls had been kidnapped, raped, and then murdered by the guys on motorbikes.
Brajesh Pathak, the deputy chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, promised that the government will take action to guarantee the relatives of the victims justice.
"Our government takes incidents like this very seriously. We will take the strictest action in accordance with laws," he told Reuters partner ANI.