Three men, including a police officer, have been arrested after two girls were found hanging from a tree following an apparent gang rape.

Villagers in the north of India accuse local police of protecting the attackers because, they say, the police refused to do anything when the two cousins, aged 14 and 15, were first reported missing.

Angry local residents, who found the hanging corpses, used the bodies to block a local highway in protest at the lack of police action. It was only then that the police registered a case of rape and murder.

Sex crimes against young girls and women are widespread in India. Females from poor, marginalised communities are often the victims.

Last December, public outrage over the fatal gang rape of a woman in New Dehli pushed the government into passing tougher laws to punish sex crimes.

This includes up to two years in jail for police who fail to register a complaint.