Possible rape victim found hanging from tree in India

NEW DELHI - A 19-year old woman was found hanging from a tree after allegedly being raped in an Indian village Thursday, causing a fresh wave of outrage in a country still stunned over a fatal sexual assault recently of two teenage girls.

In spite of massive street demonstrations in the last two years protesting sexual assault and the passage of a tough new anti-rape law, incidents of rapes do not appear to have declined in India.

There were few facts available in the latest case in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. It involved a 10th-grade dropout who left her home without telling her parents, police said. The cause of death was not confirmed; police said that there were no obvious signs of murder and that the woman might have committed suicide. Her family told local reporters that she had been raped and killed.

Incidents of brutal sexual assault in India have drawn widespread international criticism recently.

On Thursday, Indian officials rejected criticism from the U.N. special rapporteur on violence against women, Rashida Manjoo, who said violence against Indian women occurred "from womb to tomb."

The Indian government posted comments on the United Nations Human Rights Council website saying that her conclusion smacked of a "highly prejudiced state of mind."

"Our leaders are in a state of complete denial," said Akhila Singh, a member of the All India Democratic Women's Association in New Delhi. "The government in Uttar Pradesh is busy trying to brush these incidents under the carpet."

In 2012, the fatal gang rape of a student in New Delhi prompted a massive national outcry. Parliament responded by passing a law that established the death penalty for fatal rapes and also criminalized offenses such as stalking, voyeurism and acid attacks.

A rape takes place every 20 minutes in India, according to records of cases brought to the attention of authorities. The state of Uttar Pradesh ranks fourth in India in the number of rape cases reported, with 1,963 in 2012 - nearly six rapes every day.

Politicians have inflamed the situation by making statements that seem to downplay the gravity of sexual assault. Babulal Gaur, a senior minister in the state government in the neighboring state of Madhya Pradesh, said last week that rape is "sometimes right, sometimes wrong."

India's newly elected prime minister, Narendra Modi, broke his silence on the issue on Wednesday when he urged members of parliament to stop "politicizing rape."

"Respect for women and their security should be a priority" for Indians, he said. "Governments will have to work strictly against this, else our own souls will not forgive us."