India is investigating why one of the convicted Delhi rapists was able to give an interview with a filmmaker from death row.  The Home Minister Rajnath Singh has blocked the film, made for the BBC, from being shown in India.

Filmmaker Leslee Udwin says the jail and Singh’s Home Ministry gave their permission to her to conduct the interview.  She spoke with one of the men convicted and sentenced to death for the 2012 gang rape of a promising medical student on a bus in Delhi.  The brutality of the crime, from which the victim eventually died, caused outrage and revulsion the world over.  In India, it sparked massive protests and a nationwide conversation on the country’s attitude towards rape.

But convicted rapist Mukesh Singh (no relation to the Home Minister) was unrepentant.  He insists the victim was to blame because she fought back.  Despite this disgusting statement, or maybe even because of it, many believe the film should not be banned by Indian authorities.

“What the rapist said is the view of many men in India.  Let us not pretend all is well,” said upper house lawmaker and businesswoman Anu Agha, who added, “Banning the documentary is not the answer.”

The BBC has already aired it.  But Police in Delhi obtained an injunction against the film because the rapist’s remarks were “creating an atmosphere of fear and tension”.  Home Minister Singh insists the government “not allow any venture that seeks to benefit from this (the Delhi rape) for commercial gain”.  Journalists are barred from using quotes or film clips.