Parents of Delhi Gangrape Victim React to Controversial Documentary

Leslee Udwin film 'India's Daughter’, which first aired on March 5 in the UK, included an interview with Mukesh Singh - one of six males convicted for the notorious attack on Jyoti Singh on a moving bus. 

He claims he only drove the bus and did not take part in the violence or rape and is currently appealing against his sentence.  

Jyoti's father Badrinath Singh said: "What deeply affects us is that Mukesh is still alive and is giving such statements. We just want him to be hanged soon.

"His statements don’t mean anything. He is guilty of a crime and is facing a sentence. He will blame anybody to hide his mistake."

The Indian government banned the film from airing in their country on the grounds that it contained "objectionable content" and was part of a "conspiracy to defame India" - claiming that BBC failed to consult with the government before the documentary's release. 

In the interview for the documentary, which millions of Indians have watched on YouTube regardless of the ban, Mukesh says that Jyoti was to blame for her death as she chose to fought back against her rapists. 

Jyoti's mother Asha Devi said: "We don’t think any women would surrender to any rapist like this. We are proud that our daughter fought back with all her strength. 

"No women would want this to happen to her. Whatever he is saying reflects his low mentality."
Mukesh also caused outrage by claiming that Jyoti was essentially responsible for the attack, saying: "A decent girl won't roam around at 9 o'clock at night. A girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy". 

Badrinath said: "In my opinion whatever Mukesh said in the interview is disrespectful towards women. 

"And the same goes for his lawyers. They have nothing humane about them. They are devils.

"If a girl is responsible for being raped because she went out at 9pm at night, why do these kind of things happen in schools and colleges? 

"What have the 5-6 year old school girls who are raped done? How are they responsible? They don’t roam at night.

"The time doesn’t matter. You need money to survive and for that you will have to work. It can be at any time of the day. Call centers and airport staff have night shifts, and girls like Jyoti do work there. 

"They have equal participation everywhere. So should the girls not work? And not study? They should just stay at home? How will the society work in such a way?"

Badrinath and his wife Asha say they have not yet seen the full film, but that a friend has shown them some of it on their smartphone. 

Badrinath said: "We have not seen the complete film, only a part of it. We have seen our interviews and Mukesh’s interview. 

"We are not concerned that the film is good or bad, it doesn’t matter. We have faced all these things in real life.

"Now that BBC has showed it and it’s on Youtube, the ban won’t help. Everybody is watching it some way or the other."

One of Jyoti's attackers was charged as a juvenile and sentenced to a three year term in a juvenile home.

He is due to be released in December this year - something Badrinath and Asha are campaigning furiously against.

Badrinath said: "He will be freed as there is no law to counter him. He will engage in a bigger crime. He can never become a normal citizen.

"That is why I questioned that the Juvenile Justice Board puts the juvenile in a child correction home - even if he keeps repeating the crime, is it justified to treat him leniently?

"When he comes out he might join a gang and work for them. The society and governments should think what will happen when he is released."

Jyoti's parents believe that rape laws in India are "too weak".

Asha even met the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, who had promised a string of measures to ensure women's safety during his election campaigns.

Asha says she urged the PM to speed up the ongoing retrial of convicts in the Supreme Court - India's highest court of appeal - and the juvenile's release.

Jyoti's parents are still struggling to come in terms with the realities of life without their beloved daughter - and for mother Asha Devi, the void left behind by Jyoti is impossible to fill.

"Our lives have changed drastically. We have no routine. Sometimes we don’t feel like cooking - even if we cook we get no pleasure from eating," she said.

"We lost our daughter and our family is destroyed now. Our kids are affected by the protests and statements people give. Its exam time and they can’t focus at all.

Badrinath added: "We used to have little to eat but we were content. She kept all of us happy. She was the soul of our family.

"She used to come from Dehradun without telling me and then when I came from office she used to hide in the house to give me a surprise. We have great memories of her. We remember everything from her childhood.

"Now all of us are plunged into depression. We don’t cry in front of each other but we all cry separately everyday. We were peaceful when she was around. She was a beautiful feeling we can’t even describe. Now we are all in pain.

"Our life is now a puzzle. We don’t see any future. Who should we ask for help? All we want is that this should not be repeated again.

"These cases are taking place every day. The rapists have now made Nirbhaya’s [the name they use for Jyoti in India] case as a benchmark. But our system and society are still inactive on this issue."

"During election every government makes promises about women's safety but when they come into power they do nothing. They don’t even address this problem."

And memories of Jyoti's ordeal still haunt Asha.

"I only remember the pain she suffered, nothing else," she said.

"Even when I am busy doing household chores, I keep thinking about what she suffered.

"If I would have known this was to happen, I would not have let her go out that night. We were waiting for her at home when it got late but not for once we could imagine this.

"When we got to know about this incident we thought she must have been in an accident with a truck or car."

Asha gave a harrowing glimpse into her daughter's final days in the hospital as her life ebbed away from her.

"She used to tell us that “don’t worry I will be alright”. We were not able to speak at all. She used to ask us if we had our food and if we were doing okay.

"When her condition started deteriorating she had almost stopped talking, she told the magistrate taking her statement: 'Madam please give me justice and punish them.'

The magistrate asked her what kind of punishment she wanted. She said: 'they should be burnt alive'.

Badrinath believes that the government needs to take definitive measures if it wants to stop the ongoing spree of rape and sexual assault against women.

“We need to make changes in the judicial system. It is so slow in giving judgments. I went to a seminar where I got to know that over 31,000 rape cases are awaiting justice.

"That is a very big number. It won’t be even completed in 31 years,” he said.

“People are not afraid of the judiciary. They know the case will keep going on. This won’t change till the system changes.”

The only thread that keeps an inconsolable Asha going is to cherish the memories of her daughter and her sky-high ambitions.

“She always said she wanted to be a doctor. She was inclined towards education since childhood.

"Some kids cry when are made to go to school but she cried when we wanted her to take a day off school. She was different from other kids.

"She used to study day and night. Her study room walls had post it notes related to her subjects. She was different from my other two children. She had a divine blessing bestowed upon her."