Journalist Pallavi Gogoi's piece in The Washington Post, in November 2018, helps fathom, in deeper ways, the outrage over the rape and murder of Hyderabad's veterinarian and the subsequent jubilation over the killing of her four alleged assailants in a police encounter. Pallavi disclosed that she had been raped by M J Akbar, the former editor and a Bharatiya Janata Party member of the Rajya Sabha. Akbar claimed his relationship with Gogoi had been consensual, but it had "ended, perhaps not on the best note." He said he had been subjected to "a barrage of false and fabricated accusations, which I am now addressing."

Akbar did that by filing a defamation suit against journalist Priya Ramani, who was the first to accuse him of sexual harassment, which another 10 women publicly claimed had also been their experience. Yet Parliament did not erupt in fury over Akbar preying upon women. MPs did not suggest castration or lynching, as was prescribed for the Hyderabad rapists, to make Akbar an example to all those whose priapism is directly proportionate to the rise in their power. He was allowed to resign, not axed, as foreign minister, largely because he was deemed innocent until proven guilty.