Two teenage girls found hanged from a tree in a village in northern India had been gang raped before they were killed, say police.

The girls were discovered on Wednesday in Katra village in the Badaun district of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, and are believed to be from the Dalit community, according to the BBC.

ANI reports that the two girls were sisters, and had been reported as missing to police.

Three policeman have been removed from duty for not registering the case when they were informed about the missing girls, and one man has been held over the murders. The police are reportedly looking for two further suspects.

A spotlight has been focused on the violence and discrimination perpetrated against women in Indian society since the 2012 gang rape and murder of a student on a bus in Delhi, which sparked widespread protests throughout the country and made headlines across the globe.