Shinde eyes stronger laws, Dikshit calls it shameful for her

, Dec 29: Condoling the death of the gangrape victim, Union Home Minister

on Saturday pledged to strengthen laws to ensure that such incidents are not repeated. He also said that the real tribute to the 23-year-old victim will be to ensure maximum punishment to the culprits.

In a message to the family, he said, "A real tribute to her will be to ensure maximum punishment to the culprits. I pledge to work to strengthen the laws and ensure that such an incident never gets repeated again." The girl, who was gangraped and brutally assaulted by six men in a moving bus in south Delhi, died in a Singapore hospital early this morning after battling for life for the past 13 days.

Meanwhile, terming the incident as "shameful" for her as an administrator, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Saturday condoled the death of the victim and said one must ensure that such "ghastly" acts do not happen again. She also appealed to people to maintain peace and calm against the backdrop of violent demonstrations last weekend over the gangrape incident.

"Our heart goes to the family. My heart is burning over the incident. The passing away of the girl is a truly and terribly tragic incident. It shook our conscience," Dikshit told PTI.

"It is a shameful incident for me as a Chief Minister and also as a citizen of Delhi. It is time for all of us to reflect on what has happened. "We all must ensure such ghastly incident do not happen in the future. I pray for her," Dikshit said.

PTI