BBC Airs Controversial 'Nirbhaya Case' Documentary, Government Considering Action
Darpan News Desk, 05 Mar, 2015 01:37 PM
New Delhi, March 5 (IANS) The government on Thursday said it was considering action against BBC for ignoring a court order banning the airing of a documentary carrying an interview with one of those convicted in the December 16, 2012 Delhi gang rape, even as support built up for the documentary, with people saying "don't shoot the messenger".
The documentary "India's Daughter" by British filmmaker Leslee Udwin carries an interview with Mukesh Singh, one of the six men who brutally raped the young woman on December 16, 2012, who subsequently died of injuries. The BBC documentary has kicked up a storm in India.
While some women's groups demanded a ban on airing of the documentary and the information and broadcasting ministry ordered all channels not to air it, the BBC went ahead and showed it on late Wednesday night.
An upset Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the government had asked BBC not to air it.
"We had asked the BBC not to air it but they showed it as they are independent. We are looking into the issue and will take action if there is any violation of terms and conditions," he told reporters here.
"We had written to the BBC asking it not to air the documentary but they went ahead telling us that it would not be shown in India," an official told IANS.
BBC had planned to air the film on March 8, but they advanced it and showed it on March 4, the official said, wondering "what was the hurry".
The government was also mulling blocking airing of the documentary on YouTube and social media.
"They had told us that it would not be shown in India but it's now available on YouTube. The issue is being examined and necessary action would be taken," the official said.
The parents of the rape victim said they were against airing of the documentary.
"I am surprised that BBC uploaded its documentary on YouTube in spite of the court's restraining order. The BBC has hurt the pride of India. The act of BBC clearly shows that they don't have fear of Indian law and our country," the victim's father told IANS.
He said the BBC filmmaker had approached them before making the documentary but added that they did not inform him that it was going to contain an interview with one of the convicts.
"After making the documentary, they had come to meet me. They wanted to take my signature on a paper before releasing their documentary, but I refused to do so," the father said.
Many people watched the BBC documentary when it was shown in the early hours of Thursday. The film fraternity has come out strongly against orders to restrain broadcast of the documentary, with some terming it a sign of "ostrich mentality".
Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Brinda Karat said she was not for the ban on airing of the documentary.
"I have seen the documentary. It is powerful and moving. It does not sensationalise anything. In our country, there are certain things enshrined along with freedom of speech," Karat told IANS.
"This is the fourth time that the government has banned a documentary without viewing it," she said.
Hours after the BBC telecast "India's Daughter", the hash tag #IndiasDaughter became the top global trend on social networking site Twitter on Thursday.
Two other hash tags - #NirbhayaInsulted and #DontRapeAgain were also trending on second and fourth positions respectively.
Reliance Telecom told a special court on second generation telecom spectrum allocation case Monday that it had violated no guidelines formulated by the government.
The Supreme Court Monday issued notice to the Election Commission on a plea seeking direction for combined counting of votes from a constituency as a whole and not ward-wise.
India's most bitterly fought national election ended Monday evening, with some 60 percent of the 66 million electorate in three states voting in the 10th and last leg of a contest widely tipped to end a decade of Congress rule.
The BJP-led NDA coalition is poised to return to power by winning a majority in the Lok Sabha, ending a decade of Congress-led UPA rule, exit polls said Monday after the general election ended.
India's most bitterly fought parliamentary elections end Monday when the last lot of 41 Lok Sabha constituencies vote in three major states, bringing the curtains down on a five-week-plus process widely expected to end a decade of Congress rule.
"Shapath lo, balaatkaar mukt Bharat ki" (Pledge for a rape-free India), reads a banner at Jantar Mantar in the heart of the national capital. Inscribed below is "Damini", referring to the Dec 16, 2012, gang-rape victim. Next to it stands a lit lamp, leaving you feeling calm despite the sweltering heat.
