Two police officers in the northern Indian region of Uttar Pradesh have been sacked over their refusal to help search for two missing girls, who were later discovered hanged from a tree after being gang-raped.

The officers were also reportedly charged with criminal conspiracy.

The savage rape and murder of the two sisters and the inaction of the police because of the girls’ caste has sparked outrage in the girl’s village of Katra in the Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh.

Three men have also been arrested over the rape and murder of the girls.