The NGOs will help the rape victim to file a first information report with the police, record her statement, provide support to the victim's family and help rehabilitate the victim. The proposal will be be put before Home Minister L.K. Advani on Thursday.

The proposal is a joint effort on the part of the DCW, the Crime Against Women Cell of the Delhi Police and non-governmental organisations. DCW chairperson Sheila Ghatate told Express Newsline: ``This is the first joint venture of DCW with both NGOs and the Delhi Police. We approached various NGOs with the proposal but only five came forward. They include Prayatn, Delhi Brotherhood Society, Delhi Mahila Kalyan Samiti, Mahila Shakti and the Virendra Gupta Charitable Trust''.

The NGOs will discuss the details of the scheme at Vigyan Bhawan tomorrow. They have obtained the addresses of 70 rape victims. Under the proposal, the minors will be put in school and occupational rehabilitation will be arranged for the adults. Crime against Women Cell DCP Sewa Dass said: ``We are working on the model of the Delhi Police managed organisation, Pratithi, which looks after rape victims. It has been successful in providing financial assistance and counselling to them.'' Pratidhi's office is located in east Delhi.

The proposal requires the NGOs to arrange legal and psychiatric help for the victim. Says Father Monodeet Daniel of the Delhi Brotherhood Society: ``The rape victims are very sensitive. They face tremendous difficulty while getting their statement recorded by the police. We believe that the victims will be able to open up to our trained staff''.

The DCW has also prepared a report on rape victims in the Capital which will be presented to the home minister on Thursday morning. The report states: ``The number of rapes in the Capital has come down from 523 in 1997 to 429 in 1998. However, the number of rapes of minors has increased from 48 per cent in 1997 to 51 per cent in 1998''.