Suspects accused of attacking victim after abducting her while family were away at wedding

A 16-year-old girl has been kidnapped and gang raped, then burned to death when her family tried to seek justice, in the latest case of horrific sexual violence to emerge in India.

Police have arrested 14 men in connection with the assault and murder in eastern Jharkhand state, but the main suspect is still on the run.

The teenager was abducted while her family were away at a wedding on Thursday night and raped in a nearby woodland, a local police officer told Agence France-Presse. When her parents returned and she told them what had happened, the family went to the village council.

Community elders have no formal legal standing, but carry huge authority in rural areas where people often use them to settle disputes in preference to a legal system that can be slow, expensive and corrupt.

The council ordered two men to do 100 sit-ups and pay a 50,000 (£550) rupee fine, a derisory punishment for a crime that carries a long jail sentence under Indian law. It enraged the men, however, and they responded by attacking the girl’s parents then returning to her home and set her on fire, Ashok Ram, the police officer in charge, said.

The chief minister for Jharkhand state, Raghubar Das said he was shocked by the “gruesome” attack and called for a strong response.

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It was the latest case to highlight India’s problem with sexual violence, under heavy national and international scrutiny since the 2012 death of a young student after she was gang raped on a Delhi bus. Public horror at her ordeal forced the government to bring in tough rape laws, but critics say too little has been done to enforce them or change public attitudes, and the rich and powerful often try to shield themselves from justice.

There have been nationwide protests about two cases this year in which men accused of attacks on underage girls tried to exploit links to the ruling BJP party to shield themselves from the law.

In January an eight-year-old girl was allegedly held captive in a temple and sexually assaulted for a week before being strangled and murdered with a stone. After her body was discovered, protesters with BJP connections initially tried to block police from filing charges. Two ministers have since resigned over the case.

Police have also arrested a BJP member of the Uttar Pradesh state parliament, accused with his brother of raping a 15-year-old girl. The case only came to public attention after the girl tried to burn herself alive and her father died in custody. The family had spent months trying to register a case with the police, without success.

