POLICE used water cannon today to disperse hundreds of women protesting in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, against a rise in violence against women.

Uttar Pradesh is the state in which two cousins aged 14 and 16 were gang-raped, murdered and strung up from a tree last week.

The protesters were demonstrating outside the office of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, demanding that he crack down on an increasing number of rapes and other attacks on women and girls.

Hundreds of police, including female officers, pushed and shoved the protesters before dispersing them.

The protesters also demanded that the government tackle police indifference, which they said was encouraging attacks on women.

Police failed to take any action when the father of one of the girls reported to police that the two cousins were missing. 

Mr Yadav has recommended a federal inquiry but his government is widely accused of a lack of commitment towards women’s safety.