Eight-year-old Asifa Bano was grazing her horses in Indian Kashmir when she was reportedly kidnapped, drugged, and fatally gang-raped by four policemen and a former government official.

Horrific accounts of the January case - released on 11 April - have sparked protests across India, with thousands calling on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government to take action.

Investigators say the attack was premeditated - a conspiracy meant to intimidate Asifa's nomadic Bakarwal Muslim community into leaving the area. The accused perpetrators, however, have found support among BJP officials and Hindu nationalist groups, who say some of the Muslim investigators are biased against their party and community.

Although Prime Minister Modi has vowed to ensure justice for Asifa and other rape victims, the case has become politicised along religious and cultural lines, increasing animosity between some Muslims and Hindus. But many Indians - in parliament, the streets, and online - have rallied around the #JusticeForAsifa hashtag to demand harsher penalties for convicted rapists and push the government to uphold the principles of the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao ("Save the girl-child, Educate the girl-child") campaign it launched to combat gender-based violence.

“This is a national issue and not a political one. ...This is about our women", said Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi at a demonstration near the famous India Gate. "This situation in the country is such today that one after another incident of murder, rape and violence is taking place. We are standing here against that and we want the government to act."

So, why is the tragic murder of Asifa Bano haunting the social conscience of India months after it happened? And what practical measures and penalties can the authorities implement to punish rapists and ease communal tensions?

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