Headlines
BBC airs controversial gang-rape documentary
New Delhi, March 5
Brushing aside Indian
protests, the BBC has telecast a documentary on a brutal gang-rape in
Delhi that has been banned in India, "given the intense level of
interest" in it.
The hour-long documentary was then uploaded on YouTube by an individual, effectively making it available to a global audience.
Shown
on BBC Four, "India's Daughter" is a documentary that had kicked up a
storm after one of the convicts of the 2012 gang rape in Delhi was
interviewed in prison here. He awaits death sentence.
The
documentary had caused an uproar in India with the government banning
its telecast in all formats. The government had also that it will take
steps to see that the documentary was not telecast outside India.
The
BBC said in a statement just before the 3.30 a.m. (India time) Thursday
telecast that the film handles the issue responsibly and complies with
editorial guidelines.
"The film handles the issue responsibly and
we are confident the programme fully complies with our editorial
guidelines. The BBC will broadcast Storyville - India's Daughter, in the
UK on BBC Four.
"The documentary has the backing of a number of
other public service broadcasters. However, the BBC is only responsible
for transmission of the film in the UK."
The documentary, by
British filmmaker Leslee Udwin, drew criticism from Indian MPs as to how
the convict came to be interviewed in jail and sexist remarks of the
prisoner's lawyer.
The Indian government on Wednesday wrote to
the BBC to ensure that the film was not telecast through any medium in
India or abroad.
A 23-year-old trainee physiotherapist was
brutally gang-raped on December 16, 2012 on board a moving bus in Delhi.
After undergoing terrible agony, she died in a Singapore hospital on
December 29.
The rape triggered violent protests across India,
particularly in India, shaking the then government of prime minister
Manmohan Singh.
BBC said that "given the intense level of
interest" in the film, the time of transmission had been brought forward
to 10 p.m. on March 4 "to enable viewers to see this incredibly
powerful documentary at the earliest opportunity".
The documentary was initially slated for telecast on March 8, International Women's Day.
"This
harrowing documentary, made with the full support and co-operation of
the victim's parents, provides a revealing insight into a horrific crime
that sent shock waves around the world and led to protests across India
demanding changes in attitudes towards women," the statement added.