GETTY Girl, 10, raped and set on fire in India after multiple attacks

FREE now and never miss the top politics stories again. SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up fornow and never miss the top politics stories again. We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

The girl, aged 10, was found after suffering burns to 60 per cent of her body in a Jharkhand village, eastern India. Police have registered attempted rape and murder charges against two men who are missing, and detained five suspects for questioning, the Hindustan Times reported.

GETTY Many Indian women have been raped as the country experiences a crisis and toughens laws

At the time of the alleged attack the child had been playing when the pair tried to lure her away with sweets. The girl who was outside her home in Seraikela-Kharsawan district’s Kandra village on Wednesday morning refused. But the men then dragged her to a stone-crushing unit in the village, police said. There the pair stripped her and tried to rape her. The girl tried to fight them and tried to flee.

GETTY Children are at risk of rape in India as campaigners fight for justice for women

When the men caught up with her they set her one fire and left her in a dried well, officers claim. A passing woman heard the girl’s screams and managed to get help to pull the severely burnt child from the well. An official associated with the case told the Indian Express: “The victim gave her statement to the police. We have registered a case. “The girl said that she could identify the men, but did not know them by name.” Arvind Kumar Singh from Kandra police station said the girl’s family recently moved to Kandra from West Bengal, and police were investigating if an acquaintance may have been involved in the assault.

GETTY Protestors and campaigners are fighting for changes in India as over 30k women raped in a year