An Indian court has banned the country's media from broadcasting a documentary in which one of the men who gang-raped and murdered a New Delhi student is shown blaming the victim.
Spokesman Rajan Bhagat says New Delhi police obtained a court order late on Tuesday banning anyone from broadcasting the documentary, called India's Daughter, on grounds of "objectionable content".
"We have only seen the promotional parts of the film. Based on that we took the matter to court because we felt that it will cause likely apprehension of public disorder," Bhagat said on Wednesday.
"It shows a very objectionable interview with the convicted rapist."
Mukesh Singh, one of five men convicted over the 2012 attack in New Delhi, told British filmmaker Leslee Udwin from his prison cell that the murdered student should not have been out at night, and blamed her for fighting back against her attackers.
Udwin, an award-winning filmmaker, said she was heart-broken by the ban on the documentary, in which Singh said the victim should not have been "roam(ing) around at 9 o'clock at night" and that "a girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy".
"My heart is broken with this court order," she told AFP by telephone.
"The more they try to stop the film, the more they are going to pique people's interest. Now, everyone is going to want to see it."
India's Daughter was due to be televised in seven countries, including India and Britain on Sunday, International Women's Day.
Udwin said earlier she had permission from both prison authorities and the home ministry to film inside the vast Tihar jail in Delhi for her documentary, which charts the aftermath of the fatal gang-rape.
The 23-year-old physiotherapy student, who cannot be named, died from her injuries 13 days after she was savagely attacked on a moving bus while on her way home from the cinema with a male friend on December 16, 2012.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh told parliament on Wednesday Mukesh Singh's comments were "highly derogatory and an affront to the dignity of women".
"The government condemns it," he said of the documentary.
"It will not allow any organisation to leverage such an incident and use it for commercial purpose," he said of the film, which charts the aftermath of the fatal gang-rape.
India's NDTV network was due to have shown the documentary on Sunday.
Udwin said she was heart-broken by the ban.
"I am sure, positive, that NDTV will fight this arbitrary censorship all the way, because it is an organisation that stands up for values, for public welfare and for the greater good," she said.
"India is a country that values its rights and one of the most important of them is the freedom of speech, expression and that needs to be upheld."
The documentary divided MPs on Wednesday, with many applauding the ban but others saying India must confront views such as the rapist's - however abhorrent.
"Banning this movie is not the answer," said Anu Agha, an independent MP.
"We have to confront the issue that men in India do not respect women and any time there is a rape, blame is put on the woman."
Share
