Accused in the 2012 Delhi gang rape, Mukesh Singh was paid Rs. 40,000 for his interview by the makers of the controversial documentary India's Daughter, according to a report in Navbharat Times.
The report says that several attempts were made filmmaker Leslee Udwin for Singh's interview. She was helped by a person named Khullar. Their attempts to get the interview were not successful at first, however they later received permission from Tihar Jail as well as the Ministry of Home Affairs for the interview.
According to the report, an investigation within Tihar Jail found that Singh had made the demand of Rs. 2 Lakh for the interview. This was later negotiated to Rs. 40,000. Singh agreed to the interview after they settled on this amount, eventhough permission from authorities had already been granted by then. None of the money was found to be in Singh's Prisoner Property account but the reports says that the investigation at Tihar found that Singh's family had received the money.
This report comes against the backdrop of government serving a legal notice on BBC, accusing it of violating the stipulated conditions to make the documentary, India's Daughter, with a controversial interview of one of the convicts of the December 16, 2012 gangrape incident. Singh's comments in India's Daughter have grabbed headlines in Indian newspapers and sparked outrage on social media. Some people have questioned whether the convicts should have been given a forum to express their views.
Udwin, The British filmmaker, who worked on the film for two years and was inspired to make it after watching thousands of people take to the streets across India in protest over the 2012 rape, said it would be released worldwide as planned.
Four men including Mukesh Singh were sentenced to death for the crime, but their execution was later stayed on appeal by the Supreme Court.
