Police in India announced on Thursday that they looking for the men accused of raping and killing three young girls last week. The girls, ages 5, 9 and 11, were sisters who never made it home from school on Feb. 14. Their mother, a poor widowed laborer, claims that the police did not take immediate action when the incident was first reported. Two days later, the bodies of the young girls were found in an old well and their deaths were recorded as "accidental."
This led to protests from people against the police inaction on Wednesday. During the demonstration, protesters forced shops to close, burned tires and blocked a national highway passing through the area for hours in demand of justice which gained the attention of the state home minister.
According to Arti Singh, the district superintendent of police, an inquiry has been launched against the inspector in charge of the local police station over the delay in responding to the complaint about the missing girls. The inspector has been suspended for not acting promptly.
"We've got some strong, solid indications [about the suspects] and we're working very hard," she added.
Cabinet Minister Manish Tewari called the killings a "very, very heinous assault" and announced that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was sending 1 million rupees ($18,300) to the family. However, when asked about the compensation of one million rupees the mother of the victims said, "No amount of money is going to bring my girls back. I appeal to the government to catch the culprits early and hang them."
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