Rajdeep refused to acknowledge Kolkata rape-murder? One-yr-old clipped video shared with false claims

A clip from The Lallantop’s Neta Nagri program is currently viral on social media. In this clip, journalists Rajdeep Sardesai, Saurabh Dwivedi, and Rahul Srivastava are seen on stage.

During the discussion, Rajdeep Sardesai states, “Be it in Mumbai in 92-93 or Muzaffarnagar in 2012, whenever there are riots, we always receive stories of rapes and gang rapes.” At this point, journalist Rahul Srivastava interrupts, questioning why Sardesai specifically mentioned Uttar Pradesh and not West Bengal, where a similar incident had recently occurred. Sardesai responds by clarifying that his mention of Uttar Pradesh was in the context of women’s participation. He further adds, “By the way, West Bengal is the only state in the country with a woman Chief Minister at the moment.”

The video clip has been widely shared, with several social media users slamming Sardesai. Kanchan Gupta, senior advisor of the ministry of information and broadcasting, shared the clip, claiming that Rajdeep Sardesai had dismissed the recent rape and murder of a doctor at a government hospital in Kolkata. (Archived link)

Here is @sardesairajdeep of @IndiaToday refusing to acknowledge horrific rape and murder of a young doctor in a Kolkata Govt hospital.
Political patronage can silence voices, compromise journalists and bury what Rajdeep once called ‘Moral Compass’ in a dung heap of immorality. pic.twitter.com/6eu5FGO52B

— Kanchan Gupta 🇮🇳 (@KanchanGupta) August 13, 2024

Right-wing influencer Vineet Nayak, who uses the username ‘Bhiku Mhatre’ on X, shared the clip as well, labelling Sardesai as shameless and implying that the gravity of the crime of rape changed depending on who the chief minister of that state was. (Archived link).

Another Right-wing influencer, Ankur Singh, shared the clip, accusing Sardesai of defending the Trinamool Congress by emphasizing that West Bengal had a woman chief minister, instead of acknowledging recent incidents of violence and rape in the state (Archived link).

BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya also shared the clip in February 2024, targeting Sardesai. (Archived link)

Fact Check

Noticing that the viral clip features the title of ‘The Lallantop’ show ‘Neta Nagri,’ we conducted a keyword search on YouTube using the names of the three journalists featured in the video. This search led us to a longer version of the program, which was uploaded on The Lallantop’s YouTube channel. The viral clip can be found at the 2:36:37 mark of the video which was uploaded on August 5, 2023.

So, it is clear that the video is over a year old and hence the claims that Sardesai refused to acknowledge the August 9 R G Kar rape and murder in Kolkata are false.

When examining the broader context of the viral video, two key points emerged

1. The video has been edited and Sardesai’s remarks are being shared out of context

A few seconds after the viral part of the video, Rajdeep Sardesai elaborates that during political or mass violence, women often become soft targets as a demonstration of power by male-dominated systems. Sardesai further mentions that even in Bengal, where the chief minister is a woman, local control is still largely held by men, illustrating that gender dynamics are entrenched regardless of leadership.

2. Journalist Rahul Shrivastava misinterpreted what Rajdeep Sardesai said

Upon reviewing the earlier part of the clip, it becomes clear that Rahul Srivastava misinterpreted Rajdeep Sardesai’s comments. Sardesai’s earlier remarks did not specifically target Uttar Pradesh but rather referred to North India as a whole, which includes multiple states. His discussion was centred around the broader issue of women becoming soft targets in violent incidents, particularly in North India, due to the unequal representation of women in public spaces. However, this context was not fully addressed by Srivastava’s question, leading to a misunderstanding that was further amplified by the edited viral clip.

In summary, an old and incomplete video has been circulated out of context with the false claim that Rajdeep Sardesai recently dismissed the rape and murder of a woman doctor in Kolkata’s R G Kar Hospital.

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