GWALIOR: Outraged villagers blocked a highway in central India on Tuesday, placing the body of a 15-year-old schoolgirl on the road to demand the death penalty for three men accused of her gang-rape and murder.
The protest in Bhind, a district in Madhya Pradesh state, began at 2:30 p.m. local time following the post-mortem examination of the Class 9 student. Demonstrators, joined by local social organisations and activists from the Bhim Army, blocked traffic near a police post for over three hours, chanting slogans for swift justice.
According to police investigators, the teenager left her home on 28 May with an acquaintance, Ramu Gurjar. Gurjar allegedly drove her to the Gwalior district, where two accomplices, Arun Kushwaha and Gaurav Kushwaha, were waiting.
Detectives said the suspects planned to sell the girl. When she resisted, she was assaulted and strangled. Investigators allege that on 29 May, the suspects doused the body in petrol and set it alight to destroy evidence.
While police have registered cases against the three primary suspects, protesters claimed at least two other individuals were involved in the conspiracy and demanded that authorities expand the investigation.
