Calls to remove video of Canadian Sikh woman's killing gather steam
Darpan News Desk IANS, 31 May, 2023 01:34 PM
New Delhi, May 31 (IANS) Calls to remove a video circulating online of a Canadian Sikh woman whose gruesome killing was caught on camera, have been picking up steam with netizens urging social media giants to remove the graphic content.
Davinder Kaur, 43, was stabbed to death by her estranged husband Nav Nishan Singh in Sparrow Park, Brampton, on May 19.
Emergency crews found the mother of four with "obvious signs of trauma", who died on the spot despite attempts by paramedics to save her life.
Singh, who was arrested a short distance from the crime scene, has been charged with first-degree murder.
"Truly disturbing", professor and human rights activist Madhu Purnima Kishwar tweeted after the video went viral. Singh hurled profanities at Kaur and reportedly took video of her dying moments. The video shows her bleeding profusely in a creek after being attacked.
"Her (Kaur's) final moments of pure suffering have been shared around the world on social media for all to see and cringe in horror to," Ashis Basu, a Twitter user, wrote
"I am outraged that there is a video circulating on Twitter of Davinder Kaur in her dying moments in Brampton Park. Under no circumstances should this video be put out or watched or retweeted," Amardeep Kaur, associated with Toronto University, said on Twitter.
Amardeep said she repeatedly raised a concern with Twitter but the social media giant refused to take down the videos or even add sensitive content warning.
"I tried again in the "harassed/ intimidated with violence" category -- on note that the video celebrates and praises violent acts... Twitter still chose not to remove or even put a sensitive warning on them. It is such a horrific violation to the women that we can't get these brutal videos down," an anguished Amardeep said.
Twitter's policy on deceased individuals prohibits sharing excessively gruesome images or videos, or sharing media depicting a deceased individual for sadistic purposes.
It further says that sharing images or videos of a deceased individual can "cause serious distress to the deceased's family and can also negatively impact the well-being of others who view this content".
"It is a huge disservice to them and their families and it also causes such a huge desensitisation toward violence against women," Ananya, an Illustrator for Teen Vogue, said.
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown told Global News that he is aware of the "harrowing video".
"It's very disappointing that a video as heinous as that would be available for viewing. I know the police took this very seriously -- they made their best efforts to have the video removed," he said.
While the news outlet reached out to both Twitter and Facebook, there was no response.
Kaur, according to her family, had been contemplating divorce from Singh who left her six months ago.
The two had been married for more than 20 years and had four children together with three living in Brampton and one in India.
Vancouver police have arrested a 51-year-old man for drug trafficking in connection with an illicit drug dispensary. Officers say the suspect was selling cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin out of a mobile trailer in the city's Downtown Eastside.
Mandeep Singh Dosanjh last spoke with family members at approximately 11 a.m. on April 29th. He is believed to have been staying at a hotel along the 8600 block of Alexandra Road in Richmond that evening, but checked out in the early morning hours.
Environment Canada has issued an air quality advisory for Prince George and the surrounding area due to high concentrations of coarse particulate matter, or dust. It says dust levels tend to be highest around busy roads and industrial operations.
The Canada Border Services Agency says a man from the United States has been sentenced to 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to the possession of loaded, restricted and prohibited firearms without a license. A statement from the service says the man was referred for secondary screening while trying to enter Canada at the Pacific Highway border crossing in March.
B-C's police watchdog says it's investigating an incident in Vancouver in which one man was seriously injured. The Independent Investigations Office says Vancouver police reported that a man had been arrested and taken to the department's jail cells last Sunday afternoon.
Burnaby RCMP is advising the public that Metrotown station is shut down due to an ongoing police incident. Burnaby RCMP is looking into the matter alongside Transit Police and to have the situation resovled at the earliest.
