Pakistani woman, 20, is gang-raped, killed and hanged from a tree in chilling echo of attack on two young cousins in India

Muzammil Bibi, 20, was attacked by three men in a field in the Layyah area

Officer with 22 years experience said he'd never dealt with a case similar

But women's rights campaigners have been protesting a spate of rapes



A 20-year-old woman was gang-raped, killed and hanged from a tree in Pakistan in a case that bears a chilling resemblance to a double rape and murder that caused outrage in neighbouring India last month.



Pakistani police said Muzammil Bibi was attacked by three men in a field in the impoverished Layyah area of densely populated Punjab province.



Senior officer Sadaqat Ali Chohan said: 'This is the first time in my 22 years of service in the police that I have seen such a case, where a girl was raped in this way and found hanging from a tree.

WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES



Horrific: A policeman stands near the body of Muzammil Bibi, 20, after policemen lowered her to the ground. She was found hanging from a tree in the town of Nawan Kot, located in Pakistan's Punjab province

'We have heard of such cases in India but never in Pakistan. The girl's clothes were torn. We took her down and moved her to hospital.



'Her body had signs of resistance. We have arrested three individuals who have confessed to the crime.'

According to police, the 20-year-old resisted the rape and her attackers strangled her.

Police said her parents spent all night looking for her and found her body hanging the next morning.

In a shockingly similar crime which took place in May, two teenage cousins were found hanging from a tree after being raped in the north of India.

WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGE: In May, two teenage cousins were found hanging from a tree, pictured, after being raped in the north of India

Three men have been arrested over the killings. Two policemen were held on suspicion of trying to cover up the crime.



Shortly after the incident, a lawmaker from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party described rape as a social crime, saying 'sometimes it's right, sometimes it's wrong.'

The controversial remarks came as political leaders of Uttar Pradesh - the state where the two cousins aged 12 and 14 were raped and hanged - faced criticism for failing to visit the scene.

Another regional politician from Modi's party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said the crime of rape could only be considered to have been committed if it is reported to police.

In yet another incident earlier this month, another woman, who was just 19 years old was also found dead hanging from a tree in India - becoming the fourth woman from the same state to die in this way.



The woman had gone missing from her house in Rajpura village in Uttar Pradesh before family members said they went to report the matter to police in nearby Thakurdwara.



Her body was then discovered outside a village in Moradabad district, around three hours from Delhi, police said. Her family say she was raped.

WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGE: Earlier this month, a separate video emerged showing another alleged rape victim, 19, hanging from a tree in India after she had gone missing from her home in Rajpura village

Mourning: The 19-year-old woman's mother was seen grieving in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh as she became the fourth woman to be raped and killed

Despite a rape being reported in India every 21 minutes on average, law enforcement failures mean that such crimes are often not reported.

The cases have triggered a debate throughout the region about violence against women.

Attacks: There have been a string of shocking sex attacks in the troubled state of Uttar Pradesh, India