Three young Indian sisters raped and murdered—police

– In this Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012 file photo, Indian women shout slogans from top of a flag post during a protest against the gang rape of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in New Delhi, India. In the court of public opinion, the men being tried in the gang rape of the Indian university student should be hanged in a public square. The demand for swift justice might make it impossible for them to get a fair trial in a court of law, with even a local bar association stopping its members from representing the men citing the heinous nature of the crime. AP FILE PHOTO

MUMBAI—Three sisters aged between six and 11 were raped and murdered before their bodies were dumped down a village well in rural western India, police said on Wednesday.

The bodies of the three schoolgirls were found last week, two days after they went missing on February 14 from their home in the Bhandara district of Maharashtra state, police superintendent Aarti Singh told AFP.

“The bodies of the three young girls were found in a well, with their schoolbags and footwear,” Singh told AFP by phone from Nagpur, adding they were aged six, nine and 11.

“The post-mortem has confirmed that the girls were raped and then murdered.”

No arrests have been made but Singh said four people had been detained for questioning and investigations were still under way.

Family members said the girls had gone out to look for their mother who was out of the house and no one heard from them again.

The incident led to protests by villagers, Singh said, echoing angry rallies in the capital New Delhi after the brutal gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in December.

That incident sparked a nationwide debate about the treatment of women and girls and their safety in India.