Asifa Bano

Indians participate in a candlelight procession on April 13 to protest the rape and murder of 8-year-old Asifa Bano in Hyderabad, India.

Asifa Bano was 8 years old and wearing a purple salwar kameez when she disappeared on Jan. 10.A week later, on Jan. 17, her mutilated and lifeless body was found in a forest near Kathua in the Indian-controlled region of Kashmir. It was a mile away from Rasana, the village where her family was currently living.Reports say she was abducted while grazing her horses in a meadow, taken to a prayer hall nearby, sedated for three days, tortured and brutally gang-raped. She was eventually strangled and hit on the head several times with a stone to ensure that she was dead.

On Wednesday, graphic details of the crime and its perpetrators emerged in a charge sheet filed by the Jammu and Kashmir state police. Its contents sparked massive outrage across the country. People gathered for candlelight vigils in protest. And using the hashtag #JusticeForAsifa on social media, citizens are condemning the crime and encouraging each other to speak up to authorities.

Details from the report revealed that the crime was fueled by religious and political tensions between Asifa's tribe, a group of Indian Sunni Muslims called the Bakarwal, and local Hindus who saw them as a threat.

The conspirators' motive for raping the child, according to the charge sheet, was to drive the Muslim family out of the area.

It also showed that local policemen were accused of perpetrating the crime. When Asifa's family reported her missing in January, among those sent to find her was Deepak Khujaria, a 28-year-old special police officer. Based on DNA evidence, he has since been accused of committing the crime. Three other policemen have been charged with hindering investigations and tampering with DNA evidence, including washing Bano's clothes before sending it in for forensic testing.