Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday sought a report from New Delhi's Tihar jail authorities on how the Nirbhaya rape accused had given a controversial interview to the British Broadcasting Cooperation (BBC) last week.

Sources in the Home Ministry said a furious Rajnath telephoned Director General, Tihar Jail, taking a serious note of the interview in which the convict Mukesh Singh defended his assault, saying the 23-year-old girl was herself responsible for her rape.

The Home Minister is upset over a rapist being interviewed by a foreign channel, sources said. The government thinks any act that propagates or promotes archaic views of a rapist should not have been encouraged, they said.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Ambika Soni attacked the government over the interview. "I want to know how did the BBC get permission to interview a man who has committed this heinous crime? He is mentally sick, his comments hold no value," she said.

Singh, one of the five convicts in the December 16, 2012 gangrape case, had said women who go out at night had only themselves to blame if they attracted the attention of molesters. In the interview from Tihar for a BBC documentary to be aired on March 8, Singh said: "A girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy."

Singh was quoted as saying by the British daily, The Telegraph, that had the victim and her male friend not tried to fight back, the gang would not have resorted to a savage beating. "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," he said.

The interview will be aired by BBC Four on its Storyville programme, 'India's Daughter', on Sunday to coincide with the International Women's Day.