GURDASPUR/CHANDIGARH: The family of 19-year-old Ranjit Singh, shot dead in an alleged police encounter on Wednesday in connection with the murder of two cops, has moved court seeking a special medical board to conduct a fresh postmortem.“We have filed a petition requesting Gurdaspur district court to appoint a seven-member board of doctors for a videographed postmortem. Only then will we accept the body and cremate him,” said Harwinder Singh, deceased’s uncle. According to police, Ranjit fled from custody, fired at cops and was killed in retaliation. Police reiterated that ASI Gurnam Singh and home guard Ashok Kumar were killed as part of an ISI plot, and fugitive accused, Inderjit Singh, ‘recruited’ Ranjit and Dilawar Singh to kill the cops. Dilawar is in police custody.Information and broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s pitch for “fair compensation” comes amid a debate raging globally over the refusal of social media giants to compensate creators of content which they have used to make huge profits. The conduct of platforms was under focus in the deliberations at the conclave, with Vaishnaw saying that social media companies can no longer function as neutral intermediaries. They now operate like publishers and must be accountable for the content they host and amplify, he said.Vaishnaw said internet’s evolution into a powerful media ecosystem demands a redistribution of responsibility. “The nature of internet has changed… today it has become a powerful media outlet, where, like media, the platforms must take responsibility,” he said, adding, “Platforms must take responsibility for what they are publishing.”Warning deepfakes, disinformation and synthetic media are corroding public trust, the minister said the damage goes beyond individual harm. “The entire society is built upon trust in institutions… that core tenet of trust is under threat,” he said, pointing to the rapid spread of fabricated images and videos through algorithm-driven virality.The I&B minister also emphasised that synthetic content must not be created without explicit consent.
