This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, and Shardool Katyayan are joined by journalists Monideepa Banerjie and Nidhi Suresh.

On the RG Kar Medical College rape-murder case, Monideepa says public protests have defied social divides, with actors, sex workers, and even YouTubers joining in. She also delves into the widely-shared misinformation about the crime. Abhinandan says the mainstream media only chooses to cover incidents of sexual assault that have a political angle.

The conversation then shifts to the redacted version of the Justice Hema Committee report, released by the Kerala government, that documents the discrimination and exploitation faced by women in the Malayalam film industry. Nidhi says, “Initially, when the Dilip case happened, CM Vijayan gave a statement saying that this is not a conspiracy…Even today, people ask, who are these powerful men within the industry who are being protected. Now, this report clearly mentions the word mafia.” Shardool says the use of ‘girl’ and ‘woman’ for the victims in the report raises questions about the possible involvement of minors.

This and more, tune in!

Hafta letters: Crime against women, athletes, environment desk