Storm over interview of Dec 16 gangrape convict in jail, Cops obtain restraint order

As a British filmmaker's interview of one of the December 16 gangrape convicts for a documentary in which he showed no remorse triggered a storm today, government took a serious view of the matter as Delhi Police lodged an FIR and secured a court order restraining the media from carrying the interview.

The parents of the December 16, 2012 gangrape victim reacted angrily to the remarks made by Mukesh Singh in the interview where he seeks to blame their daughter for the horrific incident, calling it shameful and demanded he be hanged.

The FIR, which mentions no name, was registered under IPC sections relating to statements conducing to create public mischief), intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) with intent to cause or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public), word, gesture or act intended to insult modesty of a woman) and under the IT Act provisions of punishment for sending offensive messages through communication service at the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police.

Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi said "we have registered an FIR on the basis of media reports and we will investigate and whosoever would will be found guilty we will take action against them."

late this evening, Delhi Police moved Metropolitan Magistrate Puneet Pahwa at Patiala House here and obtained an order restraining the media from broadcasting, publishing or transmitting the controversial interview till further order, Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said.

The filmmaker leslee Udwin on her part said the film is her attempt to examine the attitude of men towards women and that there was nothing sensational in it.

Udwin also claimed she took permission from the then Director General of Tijar jail Vimla Mehra before interviewing Mukesh in the prison for BBC.

Taking the incident of the convict being interviewed in custody very "seriously", Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Tihar jail Director General Alok Kumar Verma and sought a detailed report on it urgently, official sources said.

During the telephonic conversation, the DG briefed the Home Minister about the incident and the action taken so far, the sources said.

In the interview, Mukesh, who was awarded death sentence for the brutal rape and murder of the 23-year-old girl, said the women who went out at night had only themselves to blame if they attracted the attention of gangs of male molesters.

"A girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy," he had said.

Mukesh also said that had the girl and her friend not tried to fight back, the gang would not have inflicted the savage beating, which led to her death later.

Describing the killing as an "accident", Mukesh Singh had said "When 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."

'India's Daughter' tells the story of the Delhi gangrape incident from the perspective of the convicts and victim's parents, Udwin claimed.

The filmmaker asked people not to have pre-conceived notion about the movie which will premiere in India on March 8 on NDTV.

"The film ends with global statistics around the world, country by country. Rape is not an Indian problem. It's a global problem," she told reporters.

As a controversy broke out over permission given to interview Mukesh in Tihar jail, she said "I wrote a letter to DG of Tihar. The DG of Tihar had to consult with MHA. The letter basically stated that it was a campaigning film. I had applied permission in May 2013 and I got the answer 'yes' in two weeks. Official permission of MHA also came. Permission from the prison was also signed."

Home Ministry sources said an internal inquiry has found that permission for taking the interview by the British filmmaker of a rape convict was granted by the ministry in July 2013, which lawyers consider "contravention" of jail manuals.

While granting the permission, the Home Ministry put the conditions that the rapist has to give his consent for the interview and the Tihar jail authorities will watch the raw footage of the film and give its consent before its telecast.

Sources said even though rape convict Mukesh Singh gave his consent for the interview, the Tihar jail officials apparently did not go through the raw footage of the documentary which is said to be 16-hour long.

Udwin was said to have conveyed that the raw footage of the documentary was with her and anyone from the Tihar jail or Home Ministry could watch it.

However, sources said, there was no initiative on the part of either the Home Ministry or the Tihar jail to watch the documentary.

Delhi High Court lawyer M S Khan said that the jail manual permits and regulates the meetings of prisoners with outsiders but it does not allow a personal video interview of an inmate.

"Personal interview of an inmate is in contravention of jail manual," he said.