THE STORY
A documentary film about the fatal Nirbhaya gang-rape case has been banned in India over concerns that derogatory comments made by one of the rapists could create an atmosphere of fear and tension, a police official said.
Leslee Udwin's "India's Daughter" features conversations with Mukesh Singh and fellow convicts who raped and tortured a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in December 2012, sparking nationwide protests and forcing India to toughen anti-rape laws.
Comments released to the media this week showed that in the film, Singh blames the victim for the crime and resisting rape. He also says women are more responsible than men for rapes.
"A court has passed (an) order prohibiting the publication and transmission of the interview till further orders," said Rajan Bhagat, a spokesman for Delhi Police.
"He (Mukesh) had made offensive and derogatory remarks against women, creating an atmosphere of fear and tension with the possibility of public outcry."
Singh's comments in "India's Daughter" have grabbed headlines in Indian newspapers and sparked outrage on social media.
The film had been scheduled to premiere in India and several countries such as Britain and Denmark on March 8 on International Women's Day. Udwin, a rape victim herself, said the film would be released worldwide as planned.
"I am deeply saddened by this ban, this is not reasoned behavior," Udwin told Reuters on Wednesday, adding she would never agree to cutting the about nine-minute footage of Singh's interview in the documentary.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said the government has taken necessary action to stop the telecast of a documentary.
Making a statement in the Rajya Sabha, the home minister said government condemns the December 16, 2012 incident and will not allow to leverage such incidents for commercial use.
"It has come to the notice that the said interview was scheduled to be telecast by BBC-4 on International Women's Day on March 8," he said.
"Our government condemns the incident of 2012. The government has taken necessary action and secured a court order restraining telecast of the film," the minister said.
The issue forced the adjournment of the house for 15 minutes amidst noisy scenes earlier as members expressed outrage over the interview.
In a shocking claim, one of the rapists on death row has displayed an utter lack of remorse, blaming the physiotherapy student for their savagery and saying she 'shouldn’t have fought back'.
In the BBC interview, Mukesh Singh claims that his execution will endanger rape victims.
He claims: “Now when they rape, they won’t let the girl go like we did. They will kill her. Earlier, they would rape and say, ‘Leave her, she won’t tell anyone.’ Now when they rape, especially the criminal types, they will just kill the girl. Death.”
The grotesque statement has set social media on fire, with stinging retaliatory messages doing the rounds. Even the legal community feels Singh’s statements are an “admission of crime” and “give us a peep into his sick mind”.
On December 16, 2012, the 23-year-old woman was brutally assaulted and tortured with an iron rod on a moving bus by five men and a 17-year-old.
Singh, who has admitted to driving the bus but denied raping the woman, is one of the four men sentenced to death for the killing that sparked worldwide condemnation and spurred major changes in Indian law. His death sentence is currently on appeal.
Speaking from jail, Singh says: “Women are more responsible for rape than men…. While being raped, she shouldn’t fight back. She should just be silent and allow the rape. Then they’d have dropped her off after doing her, and only hit the boy.”
He also says it is up to women to escape rape.
“You can’t clap with one hand - it takes two hands. A decent girl won’t roam around at 9pm. Boys and girls are not equal. Housework and housekeeping is for girls, not roaming in discos and bars at night, doing wrong things, wearing wrong clothes. About 20 per cent of girls are good,” he says.
A documentary film about the fatal Nirbhaya gang-rape case has been banned in India over concerns that derogatory comments made by one of the rapists could create an atmosphere of fear and tension, a police official said.
Leslee Udwin's "India's Daughter" features conversations with Mukesh Singh and fellow convicts who raped and tortured a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in December 2012, sparking nationwide protests and forcing India to toughen anti-rape laws.
Comments released to the media this week showed that in the film, Singh blames the victim for the crime and resisting rape. He also says women are more responsible than men for rapes.
"A court has passed (an) order prohibiting the publication and transmission of the interview till further orders," said Rajan Bhagat, a spokesman for Delhi Police.
"He (Mukesh) had made offensive and derogatory remarks against women, creating an atmosphere of fear and tension with the possibility of public outcry."
Singh's comments in "India's Daughter" have grabbed headlines in Indian newspapers and sparked outrage on social media.
The film had been scheduled to premiere in India and several countries such as Britain and Denmark on March 8 on International Women's Day. Udwin, a rape victim herself, said the film would be released worldwide as planned.
"I am deeply saddened by this ban, this is not reasoned behavior," Udwin told Reuters on Wednesday, adding she would never agree to cutting the about nine-minute footage of Singh's interview in the documentary.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said the government has taken necessary action to stop the telecast of a documentary.
Making a statement in the Rajya Sabha, the home minister said government condemns the December 16, 2012 incident and will not allow to leverage such incidents for commercial use.
"It has come to the notice that the said interview was scheduled to be telecast by BBC-4 on International Women's Day on March 8," he said.
"Our government condemns the incident of 2012. The government has taken necessary action and secured a court order restraining telecast of the film," the minister said.
The issue forced the adjournment of the house for 15 minutes amidst noisy scenes earlier as members expressed outrage over the interview.
In a shocking claim, one of the rapists on death row has displayed an utter lack of remorse, blaming the physiotherapy student for their savagery and saying she 'shouldn’t have fought back'.
In the BBC interview, Mukesh Singh claims that his execution will endanger rape victims.
He claims: “Now when they rape, they won’t let the girl go like we did. They will kill her. Earlier, they would rape and say, ‘Leave her, she won’t tell anyone.’ Now when they rape, especially the criminal types, they will just kill the girl. Death.”
The grotesque statement has set social media on fire, with stinging retaliatory messages doing the rounds. Even the legal community feels Singh’s statements are an “admission of crime” and “give us a peep into his sick mind”.
On December 16, 2012, the 23-year-old woman was brutally assaulted and tortured with an iron rod on a moving bus by five men and a 17-year-old.
Singh, who has admitted to driving the bus but denied raping the woman, is one of the four men sentenced to death for the killing that sparked worldwide condemnation and spurred major changes in Indian law. His death sentence is currently on appeal.
Speaking from jail, Singh says: “Women are more responsible for rape than men…. While being raped, she shouldn’t fight back. She should just be silent and allow the rape. Then they’d have dropped her off after doing her, and only hit the boy.”
He also says it is up to women to escape rape.
“You can’t clap with one hand - it takes two hands. A decent girl won’t roam around at 9pm. Boys and girls are not equal. Housework and housekeeping is for girls, not roaming in discos and bars at night, doing wrong things, wearing wrong clothes. About 20 per cent of girls are good,” he says.
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