Three confess to killing and gang rape of teenagers

Police say three detained suspects have confessed to the gang rape and slaying of two teenage cousins who were found hanging from a tree in northern India last week.

The search for two additional suspects continued yesterday for a fourth day.

India has a long history of tolerance of sexual violence, but the gang rape and killing of the 14 and 15-year-old cousins in Uttar Pradesh state caused outrage across the nation.

Police officer Atul Saxena said yesterday that police were preparing identity sketches of the two missing suspects based on descriptions provided by the arrested suspects.

Authorities also have arrested two police officers for failing to investigate when the father of one of the teenagers reported the girls missing in a tiny village in Uttar Pradesh.

The three suspects detained are cousins in their 20s and they face murder and rape charges, crimes punishable by the death penalty, said police officer N Malik.

The father who reported the girls missing, Sohan Lal, has demanded a federal investigation.

“I don’t expect justice from the state government as state police officers shielded the suspects,” said Lal, a farm labourer who refused to accept a 500,000 rupees (€6,194) payment offered by the state government as financial help.