Probe possible if it was indeed snooping: Shinde

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde Thursday said that if the alleged snooping of a young woman by Gujarat Police in 2009 is "genuine", a probe may be ordered into it.

The union home minister, speaking on the sidelines of a conference in the national capital, said his ministry has not yet received any letter from the National Commission for Women seeking an investigation into the allegations that the woman was stalked by police, and added that the ministry will take a view of the matter once the letter was received.

Asked about the Congress party's demand for investigations, Shinde asserted that the government would be impartial. "As government, we are impartial. If the case is genuine, it can be inquired into," he said.

The alleged snooping has escalated into a major row between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The BJP has defended the role of the state government, stating that the young woman's father had approached the state government, claiming she needed protection.

The incident was brought to light by investigative reports carried by two news websites, which claimed that three key wings of Gujarat Police misused their powers to stalk an unmarried young woman from Bangalore in 2009 under orders from then Gujarat minister of state for home, Amit Shah.