Rape case suicide teen pens despairing note

Women in the northern Indian state of Punjab mourn the death of a rape case teenager who killed herself with poison.

Police failed to take action after three men allegedly abducted the girl on the night of the Diwali festival, raped her and dumped her on the road.

The 17-year-old had tried to report the crime but local police didn't register the case for two weeks.

In her suicide note, she said she'd been called repeatedly to the police station and humiliated once the case was finally registered.

The town's police chief told reporters three people mentioned in the suicide note had now been arrested and the officer in charge sacked for negligence.

He decried attempts to hush-up the case and said he was taking it very seriously.

"It is a very sensitive matter," he says. "The girl is like a daughter to us."

The news of the teenager's suicide comes as a 23-year-old medical student brutally gang raped on a bus in New Delhi continues to battle for her life.

That savage assault has caused outrage in India with thousands participating in massive protests demanding tough new anti-rape laws and and stringent punishment for rapists.