NEW DELHI: A little less than 20% of sexual-assault cases reported in and around Delhi are false, shows a five-year study. In almost every fifth incident, or, in 18.3 % cases to be precise, rape is used as a weapon to malign and attempt revenge, found a group of psychologists who assist Delhi Police in investigating sexual assault allegations.

The conclusion was drawn from 113 cases in the last five years. Anger towards the accused prompted allegations of rape in 25% of the false charges. An equal number of such cases were filed at the behest of family members. Every fifth false allegation was made by a minor `coached' to cry `rape' as an attempt to settle family scores. About 15% were situations of panic after clear consent, while the remaining 15% defied categorisation.

In September 2007, the Supreme Court had alerted lower courts to attempts at misusing the rape law, noting "the courts should bear in mind that false charges of rape are not uncommon.''

Rajat Mitra of Swanchetan, the NGO that conducted the study, says the false cases can be complicated at times. He talks of a 16-year-old girl from West Delhi's Dabri area who accused her father and another man of rape. The girl claimed insanity post-assault, saying she would see faces of men all around her attacking her. The girl broke down on being asked by counsellors whether the images were in black and white or in colour. She confessed her brother had asked her to accuse their father. With her father in jail, believed the girl, her brother would get the property and she would get to marry the person of her choice. In the end, withdrew the case.

Another case was of a medically proven rape of a 13-year-old in Dwarka. The girl had accused three men but the police found their investigations did not show these men's involvement. After a quiet talking-to by psychologists, the girl finally got the courage to speak the truth. She said the three men who had raped her were family members who had threatened her. To protect them, and out of fear, she had accused three others. In this case, the chargesheet was filed against the real culprits.

In the face of such cases, the five-year study assumes significance. Sexual assault is tricky to investigate and wrong convictions can harm the falsely accused and discredit the ordeal of real rape victims. Zero tolerance to sexual crime has a flip side to it as a person's testimony can be taken at face-value in the absence of evidence or corroboration.

It is important for investigators of sexual assault to be alert to the grey areas of such crime, says Mitra, a clinical psychologist. "While 34% of all cases showed acute PSTD in the immediate aftermath of the attack, almost 30% displayed no obvious signs of trauma," he said. The no-sign cases can mislead because the average policeman identifies trauma with incessant cathartic bawling, and a silent person may be viewed as not being traumatized, he says, while the person may likely be numbed.

Collection of evidence is often difficult, as cases are frequently reported too late for physical examinations to yield conclusive results. This is when counselling can help, as psychologists are skilled at reassuring victims and can get them to open up and recount incidents.

In cases of false allegations, it's the structure of the stories that most often give the game away. "The pre and post-sequence, the language used and the structure of events is obvious when it is coached,'' says the clinical psychologist. Instead of recalling, a person making a false accusation reconstructs the incident, building in the details as it would gel with her interrogators.