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Two teenage Indian girls found hanging from a tree in May took their own lives and were not gang-raped and murdered, the BBC reported, citing federal investigators.

The announcement came after months of inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation following global outrage.

Three men arrested in connection with the case in northern Uttar Pradesh state were freed on bail in September.

It is unclear why the girls might have taken their lives. Correspondents say there are many unanswered questions.

Women's rights activists say they are not happy with the latest findings and are urging the CBI to continue investigating.

The lower caste cousins, thought to have been 14 and 15, were found hanged from a mango tree in Badaun district on 28 May.

They went missing after apparently going outside to relieve themselves during the night as they had no toilet at home.

A local post-mortem examination initially confirmed multiple sexual assaults and death due to hanging.

But forensic tests conducted since then have concluded the girls were not sexually assaulted, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said.

"Based on around 40 scientific reports the CBI has concluded that the two minor girls in the Badaun case had not been raped and murdered as had been alleged in the FIR [first information report]," CBI spokeswoman Kanchan Prasad said on Thursday.

"Investigation has concluded that it is a case of suicide."

More details are due at a news conference later on Thursday.