Probe team takes woman allegedly raped by Rajasthan minister to his home at night

Jaipur: Rajasthan minister Babu Lal Nagar, accused of raping a 27-year-old woman at his residence in Jaipur last week, today said he was "considering" resigning, but hadn't done anything wrong.

"I am a responsible worker. If it hurts the (Congress) party, I should resign...but there is no discussion. I am only considering it in my mind," Mr Nagar said.

The police, accused of delaying action, finally interrogated the 53-year-old minister on Wednesday night, two days after he was booked for rape.

But questions are being raised over the manner in which the woman was taken late last night to the minister's home, to verify the spot where she was allegedly raped by him. Babu Lal Nagar was present at the time. The bedroom where the assault allegedly took place has been sealed.

Lashing out against the police, activists have said they should have at least allowed her to take a relative along.

For days, the woman's calls for help allegedly went unanswered as she received threats on the phone, allegedly from the minister's supporters. On Tuesday night, she spent hours in a narrow lane behind her home, hiding from cars she said were assigned to spy on her.

"They threatened to kill me, kidnap my son. I have been hiding, running from one place to another," she told NDTV on Wednesday. She has not sent her young son to school for three days. ("They threatened to kill me, kidnap my child")

The woman says the minister called her to his house on September 11, promising to get her a job. She says he had helped her with favours in the past, like asking a school to admit her relative's child. (Rajasthan minister accused of rape by 27-year-old woman, FIR registered)

She says that the minister took her into a bedroom and raped her. "When I protested, he clamped his hand down on my mouth, hit me and assaulted me," she said, adding that the politician then warned that he would have her killed "like Bhanwari Devi", a nurse who's killing landed the Congress government in a huge scandal and led to two leaders, including a former minister, being jailed.

The latest charge against another minister comes as a huge setback for Ashok Gehlot government ahead of state polls later this year.