Rajnath takes strong exception to interview of Dec 16 convict

New Delhi, Mar 3: Home Minister Rajnath Singh today took strong exception to a British film maker interviewing December 16 gangrape convict Mukesh Singh in Tihar jail, and sought a detailed report from the jail chief on the whole issue.

Taking the incident of the convict being interviewed in custody very "seriously", the Home Minister spoke to Tihar jail Director General Alok Kumar Verma and sought a detailed report on it urgently, official sources said.

During the telephonic conversation, the DG briefed the Home Minister about the incident and the action taken so far, sources said.

Media reports said British filmmaker Leslee Udwin and the BBC were given permission to interview bus driver Mukesh Singh, who was awarded death sentence for the brutal rape and murder of a 23-year-old girl on December 16, 2012. In the interview, Mukesh said the women who went out at night had only themselves to blame if they attracted the attention of gangs of male molesters.

"A girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy," he had said. Mukesh also said that had the girl and her friend not tried to fight back, the gang would not have inflicted the savage beating, which led to her death later. Describing the killing as an "accident", he had said, "When being raped, she shouldn't fight back. She should just be silent and allow the rape. Then they'd have dropped her off after 'doing her', and only hit the boy."

PTI