KOLKATA, Jan 4: A 15-year-old girl from eastern India hanged herself in response to the execution of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, police and family members said on Thursday.

“She said they had hanged a patriot. We didn't take her seriously when she told us that she wanted to feel the pain Saddam did during the execution,” the girl's father, Manmohan Karmakar, told AFP by phone from the town of Kharda.

He said his daughter, called Moon Moon, had become extremely depressed after watching Saddam's execution on television.

“She kept watching the scene over and again and didn't take food on Saturday and Sunday to protest the hanging,” he said.

Police superintendent Pravin Kumar confirmed the suicide, saying the girl had strung herself up from a ceiling fan and was found dead early on Wednesday. The communist-ruled state of West Bengal has condemned Saturday's execution of Saddam, with thousands of people taking to the streets.--AFP