Reporters Without Orders Ep 138: Bihar Assembly Election and Dalit girl’s death in Delhi

In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Nidhi Suresh and Basant Kumar.

The conversation begins with Basant’s coverage of the Bihar assembly election. Despite the incumbent government’s claims of making bihar free of open defecation, Basant points out how, barely 500 meters from the deputy chief minister’s house, the residents of a Dalit colony are forced to defecate in the open. Basant goes on to explain how big a role caste plays during elections in Bihar. He also points towards the neglected health infrastructure in the state with an example of a government hospital in CM Nitish Kumar’s home district, Nalanda.

The discussion then moves to Nidhi's report from Delhi's Model Town, where a Dalit girl was found dead in her employer’s home. Just like in the Hathras case, her body was cremated forcefully by the Delhi police at night, against the family’s wishes. Nidhi sheds light on the police’s abominable behaviour and why the victim’s relatives have been alleging rape and murder.

All this and a lot more as they talk about what made news this week, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!

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Produced and recorded by Stallan Nayak and Lipi Vats, edited by Harshula Sharma.

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