A shortage of wood for cremations and the rising costs of funerals mean many families put the bodies of loved Covid-19 victims directly into the river.

In Uttar Pradesh, there has been an increase in recent years of reported targeted attacks on minorities, including Muslims, by 'extremist Hindu groups'.

Alarmed locals alerted the police as the man walked along carrying her severed head.

The girls were bound with their own clothes but police say they suspect poisoning as cause of death.