India police arrest main suspect in teen rape, murder

Indian police said Sunday they have arrested the main suspect in the latest gang rape-murder to shock the country as protests took place over a separate highprofile sexual assault case.

The rape of a 16-year-old who was later burned alive in the eastern state of Jharkhand is just the latest to have shone a spotlight on how India handles sexual violence cases.

The accused Dhanu Bhuiyan was found at a relative’s house where he was hiding after he and accomplices allegedly burned the girl alive Friday.

The local village chief was also among 15 people detained in the case while the teenaged victim’s family have been given special police protection.

Police said Bhuiyan became enraged after the local village council ordered him to do 100 sit-ups and pay a 50,000 rupee ($750) fine following the rape.

Bhuiyan and his accomplices allegedly attacked the girl’s parents and set their house on fire with the girl inside.

Police inspector general Shambhu Thakur told AFP the “main suspect” had been arrested and a post-mortem would be carried out.

“We are on the case and we promise the family that the guilty won’t be spared,” he said.

Thakur said the village head had been arrested since he “announced a punishment that led to the murder.”

Some 40,000 rape cases were reported in 2016, with many more believed to go unreported because of stigma attached to sex crimes in deeply patriarchal India.