Shinde orders probe after RS gaffe

NEW DELHI: Caught in an embarrassing gaffe in the Rajya Sabha, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde today ordered a probe into how the names of minor rape victims figured in the statement he made on the Bhandara rape and murder incident recently.

"We withdrew the names and Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha expunged it. I have told the (Home) Secretary to conduct a probe into the matter," he told reporters outside Parliament House reacting to questions on his slip in the Upper House.

He said the names of the victims were "removed" as they were minor girls.

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury termed as "very unfortunate and very shocking" the Home Minister naming the rape victims who were raped and murdered in Bhandara.

He alleged that the "gravity" of sexual crime was not "reflected" in the statement and the Government was not paying deserving respect to victims of such crimes.