India: Police Officers Sought in Gang Rape of 14-Year-Old Girl

Indian authorities are currently hunting down two of their own, police officers accused of raping a 14-year-old girl.

The Hindustan Times reports the attack took place in the Musajhag police station of Uttar Pradesh state's Badaun district Dec. 31. A medical examination of the victim confirmed that her accusations of rape were true, and the police have launched a manhunt in the surrounding areas to apprehend the suspects.

The Times reports that the police abducted the victim as she walked in a field to use the bathroom.

India has a relatively low level of development in regards to indoor plumbing. Many families must use the fields near their homes to use the bathroom, and this fact of life makes many Indian women vulnerable to sexual assault and other abuses. This is particularly true in the early morning or late night hours.

The Times says that whe the victim's mother learned of the attack she went to the police station to file a complaint, but the officers there refused to take any action. The victim and her mother then went further up the chain of command to report the crime, and the case garnered local media attention, forcing the authorities to act.

India has been the subject of international media attention regarding the matter of sexual violence since a string of violent sexual attacks in 2013 against both Indian and tourist women.

Those attacks thrust rape and violence against women into the middle of India's national discourse. Hundreds of thousands protested in the streets, and videos of women fighting back against such attackers have been viral sensations online.

Badaun was the site of one such brutal attack when the bodies of two young girls were found dead. They were both found hung from a mango tree and their bodies bore signs of physical and sexual assault.