Probe ordered into rape victim's first statement

The home ministry yesterday ordered an inquiry into the circumstances in which the statement of the 23-year-old gang-rape victim was recorded the first time on December 21 after allegations of police interference in the process.

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Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde has ordered an inquiry into the spat between Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Delhi Police over the recording of the gang rape victim's statement, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said.

To a question on alleged police interference during the gang-rape victim's statement to Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Usha Chaturvedi, Chidambaram said, "We don't know what the truth is. We have the word of the SDM as reported by the Delhi Chief Minister (Sheila Dikshit) and the word of the police commissioner."

Chaturvedi, the SDM of Vivek Vihar, has alleged that police tried to intimidate her and interfere with the process of recording the victim's statement. Following this, the Delhi chief minister asked the home ministry to conduct an inquiry into the allegations.

The finance minister added that the gang rape victim's statement had been recorded a second time. "We are making sure that the recording is done strictly in accordance with the law".

On the condition of the victim, Chidambaram said, "Unfortunately it is not something we can be cheerful about. Her condition oscillates between getting slightly better and worse. She is on a ventilator and we are very sad. We hope she recovers."

The woman was brutally raped by six men in a moving bus on December 16 in Delhi. u00a0