Uttar Pradesh police officers in New Delhi on October 3, 2020 (illustration).

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SAJJAD HUSSAIN / AFP

Five Indian police officers have been suspended for apparently trying to cover up the gang rape case of a young woman that led to her death, a case that sparked outrage and large protests across the country.

The 19-year-old girl was attacked as she went to look for fodder near her village of Bool Garhi in Hathras district.

Paralyzed from her injuries, she died Tuesday in a New Delhi hospital.

Local police have come under heavy criticism for burning the young woman's body in the middle of the night - against the wishes of her family, according to her.

Outrage escalated further when a police official claimed the autopsy showed no rape, contrary to what the hospital report made clear.

An expert explained that the autopsy performed on the return of the young woman's body to the site was probably too late.

Four men finally arrested

The girl belonged to the Dalit class, formerly called "untouchables", the lowest caste in the rigid caste system, still very present in India despite its official abolition in 1950. Hundreds of police officers also surrounded the village for prevent journalists, politicians and demonstrators from accessing it, and prohibit the family from any outside contact.

According to relatives, she also confiscated their mobile phones.

Police eventually arrested four men, belonging to a higher caste, who were charged with gang rape and murder.

The outrage over this case and that of another young woman, raped by two men and died Thursday on the way to the hospital, sparked major protests demanding the protection of both women and Dalits.

The head of state of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, announced Friday evening the suspension of the chief of the local police force and four other police officers.

This Hindu monk, close to Hindu Nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also announced that the victim's family, the defendants and the suspended police should all pass the lie detector and undergo tests to verify that they were not drugged .

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