New Delhi: Nirbhaya documentary maker Leslie Udwin had misled the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Tihar Jail authorities by not clearly revealing her sole intention to interview convicts while seeking permission from officials to shoot inside the jail.
A Home Ministry official told Hindustan Times that Udwin didn't informe the Ministry or Tihar Jail authorities that she will be interviewing Nirbhaya rape convicts for the purpose of producing a documentary.
The official further said that Udwin filmed half-a-dozen convicts inside Tihar Jail but interview of only Mukesh Singh, one of the five accused convicted of raping and murdering a 23-year-old girl in Delhi on December 16, 2012, made it to the documentary.
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"Only if interviewing Nirbhaya case convicts for a film on the highprofile case was mentioned in Udwin's application, the sensitive matter would have definitely invited far greater scrutiny," the official was quoted as saying in the HT report.
The Ministry official, however, said that Udwin had on July 22, 2013, approached the Tihar authorities seeking permission to interview convicts of cases related to atrocities against women.
Singh, in the documentary, expressed no remorse and instead blamed the victim for going out in the night and resisting rape.
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Udwin also interviewed Nirbhaya's parents, former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit, former solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam, former Justice Leela Seth and two senior Delhi Police officials who probed the case.
Udwin left the country late on Wednesday without joining the probe.
Meanwhile, YouTube has pulled down BBC's controversial documentary ‘India's Daughter' following Government of India's request. The content of the film created furore among different segments of the society as well as among political parties. The film was uploaded on YouTube and other social media platforms on Wednesday.
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Following the outrage and heated TV debates, the government banned the documentary from being broadcast in the country. BBC, the producer of the film, broadcast it in UK on Wednesday night and later on, the video was uploaded on video sharing website YouTube from an unofficial channel.
Originally, BBC had decided to show it on March 8, coinciding with International Women's Day, but suddenly decided to broadcast it even as a storm was raging in India, saying it will enable viewers to see this ‘incredibly powerful documentary at the earliest opportunity'.
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The Indian government has also served a legal notice to BBC, accusing it of violating the stipulated conditions to make a documentary with a controversial interview. In the notice, the government told the BBC that it has violated the agreement of not using the documentary for commercial purpose and for this the British media giant was liable for legal action.
The notice was served on Wednesday evening, before the telecast of the film by the BBC in UK at 10 pm.
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