After filming furore, Delhi govt wants Tihar to route requests through it

Sources said while the director general, Tihar Jail, had written to the home ministry informing it about the permission sought by a documentary filmmaker to shoot inside the jail premises on July 22, 2013, the jail authorities had not kept the Delhi government in the loop.

“The home ministry that is now creating a fuss over the film, had itself, in two days of receiving the letter from Tihar, granted permission to shoot the film with a rider that the filmmakers seek written consent of the convicts they wish to interview. The Delhi government was not informed about any of this by the Tihar authorities when they, technically, report to it,” a source told Newsline.

Jails in Delhi are under the administrative control of the Delhi government. The principal secretary (Home) is the administrative secretary of the prison department.

According to sources, the law officer of Tihar had written to the filmmakers on December 24, 2013 raising three issues following the shooting inside the jail. “The jail authorities had asked them to edit the footage with the accused’s comments glorifying rape as it would show India in poor light. They also said that the filmmakers had shot some sensitive images inside the prison which they wanted the filmmakers not to use in their documentary. Third, they wanted the filmmakers to blur certain images,” a source said.