An eight-year-old girl allegedly raped by 16 men including some of her relatives has died in India.

The child’s parents reportedly broke down the bathroom door in a house in Tamil Nadu after she passed out following complaints of stomach pain.

Local media report indicates victim was rushed to hospital but tragically pronounced dead on arrival.

Police are waiting for a postmortem to determine the cause of her death.

But a case has been lodged under Section 174 (unnatural death) of the Indian Penal Code.

Sixteen men were reportedly arrested after the girl’s mum went to police in 2019 claiming that up to 16 male relatives had raped her child over a period of three years.

The parents alerted officers after noticing behavioural changes in their daughters, who did not allow people to touch them.

They also suffered from disturbed random sleep, fear and sudden shivering.

The girl’s stepfather told local media she was intelligent and wanted to be a police officer.