Rape of eight-month-old baby unleashes fresh anger across India

Outraged has been sparked across India by the rape of an eight-month-old baby by her cousin.

The young girl is said to be in a critical condition following the attack by her 28-year-old relative in Delhi on Sunday, according to local media.

It comes amid growing angry across the country over sexual assaults on women and girls.

India has been rocked by sex attacks over the past years, with a 10-year-old giving birth in 2017 after she was raped.

Swati Jai Hind, chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women, has now called on the country's Prime Minister Narendra Modi for stricter punishments.

In a later tweet she demanded the "death penalty" for child rapists, threatening the government with street protests.

Others in outcry over the attack labelled it "monstrous" and "disgusting".

One, Aishwarya Sakhuja, wrote: "A monstrous act needs the most exemplary punishment.

"When will this rape culture end? These kinds of incidents severely puts a dent in my heart."

Her tweet was retweeted more than 1,500 times.

Last year, a 10-year-old girl who was raped had her request for an abortion turned down India's Supreme Court.

She gave birth in August.

Four men were arrested in Delhi in 2016 after an American tourist was gang-raped, while a few months later Indian women started sharing stories of sexual harassment over Twitter.

And two men allegedly raped a woman a second time in India after she refused to withdraw a previous rape accusations against them.

The country has the largest number of child marriages in the world, with 47% of girls married under 18 (24.6 million).