Indian police arrest 14 on suspicion of gang raping and burning teenager alive

Girl was allegedly kidnapped as she attended a wedding ceremony

Students shout slogans during a protest against the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua near Jammu, in Srinagar, last month (Reuters)

Fourteen men have been arrested on suspicion of kidnapping, raping and burning a teenage girl alive in India.

The 16-year-old was attending a wedding ceremony when the men struck in the village of Raja Kendua in the Chatra district of the eastern Jharkhand state, District Magistrate Jitendera Singh said.

The men allegedly raped her before letting her go home.

The next day, the village council leaders imposed a fine of 50,000 rupees (£553) on those accused of being behind of the crime.

In retaliation, the group of men are alleged to have beaten up the girl's parents and burned the teenager to death after finding her at her home alone.

Police told the Hindustan Times a medical board was carrying out an autopsy on her body.

Mr Singh said police were still searching for the main suspect. He is one of four men allegedly linked to the incident still reported to be on the run.

"Raids are being conducted to nab him and others at the earliest. We are also probing the role of other locals in the incident," Shambhu Thakur, the inspector general of the local police force, told the Hindustan Times.

Police have put in place security arrangements in the village to prevent any escalation following the incident and the girl's family has been accorded extra protection.

Last month, a seven-year-old girl was also raped and murdered during a wedding ceremony in the village of Etah in Uttar Pradesh.

The case came a few days after eight men accused of involvement in the rape and murder of an eight-year-old Muslim girl in the state of Kashmir appeared in court for a hearing in a case which sparked nationwide outrage and criticism of the ruling party.

India has been shaken by a series of sexual assaults since 2012, when a student was gang-raped and murdered on a moving New Delhi bus. That attack galvanized the country, where widespread violence against women had long been quietly accepted.

Massive public protests were organised across India against the state and central government for failing to protect women from these attacks.

Since then, the government has passed a series of laws increasing punishment for rape of an adult to 20 years in prison. But tougher sanctions have not solved the issue and it is rare for more than a few weeks to pass without another brutal sexual assault being reported.

Responding to widespread outrage over the recent rape and killings of young girls and other attacks on children, India's government last month approved the death penalty for people convicted of raping children under the age of 12.