Gang-rapist film banned in India as minister vows probe into interview

India has banned the broadcast of a controversial documentary in which one of the men involved in the gang-rape and murder of a student is shown blaming the victim – a move the film's maker called "arbitrary censorship."

Home Minister Rajnath Singh told parliament on Wednesday the comments of Mukesh Singh, one of five men convicted over the 2012 attack in New Delhi, were "highly derogatory and an affront to the dignity of women."

"The government condemns it," he said of the documentary "India's Daughter," from award-winning British filmmaker Leslee Udwin, who won rare access to New Delhi's Tihar jail to interview the prisoner on death row.

"It will not allow any organization to leverage such an incident and use it for commercial purpose," Rajnath Singh said of the film, which charts the aftermath of the fatal gang-rape. He also vowed to investigate how a film crew managed to interview the death row inmate.

Singh's comments came after a New Delhi court late Tuesday issued an order banning media from showing the film. The reasons for the ban were not immediately clear, but some in India have expressed concern that a convicted rapist was being given a platform for his views.

Spokesman Rajan Bhagat said the New Delhi police had petitioned the court for a ban on the grounds that the film's "objectionable content" could cause public disorder.

The 23-year-old physiotherapy student died from her injuries 13 days after she was savagely attacked on a bus while on her way home from the cinema. The incident triggered violent protests in India, highlighting the frightening level of violence against women in the world's second most populous country. It ultimately led to a major reform of India's rape laws, speeding up trials and increasing penalties.

India's NDTV network was due to have aired the documentary for International Women's Day on Sunday, when it will also be broadcast in six other countries including Britain.

Udwin said she was heart-broken by the ban on the documentary, in which Mukesh 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."

"I am sure, positive, that NDTV will fight this arbitrary censorship all the way, because it is an organization that stands up for values, for public welfare and for the greater good," she told Agence-France Presse. "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 lawmakers 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."

No one at the NDTV network could immediately be reached for comment on the ban.

Udwin said she believed the move would only serve to increase interest in her film.

"The more they try to stop the film, the more they are going to pique people's interest," she said. "Now, everyone is going to want to see it."

Al Jazeera and Agence-France Presse