Indian teenager, 15, becomes latest gang-rape victim as her body is found near railway track after she protests to village elders over treatment of her father

·         Girl, 15, tried to stop village elders from beating her father for unpaid loan

·         She disappeared as beating took place and naked body was found next day

·         Father has now accused 13 village elders of 'rape, murder and kidnapping'

·         Elders previously made her spit on ground and lick it up as mark of shame

An Indian teenager has been gang-raped and murdered in India after protesting against a decision by village elders to beat her father for failing to repay a loan.

The girl, 15, had been threatened with 'dire consequences' by elders in West Bengal state before she disappeared on Monday as her father's sentence was carried out.

Her naked body was found the next day lying next to train tracks in Jalpaiguri district, and police believe she was gang-raped before being murdered.

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The naked body of a 15-year-old Indian girl was found next to these train tracks in West Bengal province, India. Her family believe she was raped and killed after trying to stop village elders beating her father Ganesh Prasad, who spotted the body, told NDTV: 'At 8.15am I saw a dead body. I have not seen anything this like before. 

'If bodies come under a train, they are in pieces but with clothes on. In this case, only the shoulder was covered by a cloth.'

 

The girl's family said a village court had previously ordered her to spit on the ground and then lick it up as a mark of shame for defying them.

Her father has now filed a lawsuit for 'rape, murder and kidnapping' against 13 elders, and police have arrested at least two people. The girl's body has been sent for a post-mortem examinationLocal reports suggest the girl could have been targeted because her family vote for the local communist party, while the village elders all belong to the ruling TMC party.

All council elders have denied any involvement in the girl's disappearance or the attack.

Media attention has been focused on sexual violence against women in India since the 2012 gang rape and murder of a student on a Delhi bus. The incident caused widespread protests across the country.

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The girl's family say elders had previously ordered her to spit on the ground and then lick it up as a mark of shame for arguing against them (pictured, the girl's clothes scattered along the railway)

The government tightened laws last year after widespread protests following the attack, but a culture of violence against women remains deeply entrenched.

Informal village councils across India wield huge influence, an often take policing of local 'laws' into their own hands, despite many of their actions being illegal. 

Conservative traditions – combined with a weak legal system and patchy policing – have allowed many to retain power over communities in rural zones.

Earlier this year a woman was raped by up to 13 men in West Bengal as punishment for a relationship with a local man that was not sanctioned by village elders.

In October last year, another teenager in West Bengal was attacked twice, including one assault on her way back from a police station, and eventually murdered.