Badaun rape, murder case terrible incident: Maneka

Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi Monday described the rape and murder of two minor girls in Uttar Pradesh's Badaun as a "terrible" case, but said she would not visit the families of the victims.

"It is a terrible case and symptomatic of what is happening in the country," Gandhi told reporters here.

Asked if she would also visit the families, like other politicians, the minister said: "I will not go there. I would use that time to put in place an institution to make sure that such incidents do not recur."

Several politicians, including Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, have visited Badaun to meet the victims' families.

The two girls, aged 14 and 15 years, were abducted, gang raped and murdered May 27 when they went to relieve themselves in a field. Their bodies were later found hanging from a tree.

Gandhi said: "Men commit rape and molestation as they can get away with it."

The minister also questioned the need for a CBI probe into the incident as "it is an open and shut case".