'MS Dhoni' actor Sandeep Nahar dies after posting 'suicide video' and note
Mumbai, Feb 15: Actor Sandeep Nahar died on Monday evening in Mumbai after posting a video and a "suicide note" on Facebook in which he purportedly blamed his wife and also mentioned "politics" he faced in Bollywood, police said.
Nahar, who was in his 30s and featured in films like Akshay Kumar's "Kesari" and Sushant Singh Rajput starrer "MS Dhoni", was found unconscious at his flat in suburban Goregaon in evening by his wife Kanchan and friends who took him to SVR Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival, a police official said.
The actor had posted a "suicide note" on Facebook, along with a nine-minute video.
In the video in Hindi, the actor can be heard saying that he was "frustrated" with constant fights with his wife and was being harassed and blackmailed by her and also by his mother-in-law.
"I would've died by suicide a long time ago but I chose to give myself the time and hope that things would get better, but they didn't. I now have nowhere to go. I don't know what awaits me after I take this step, but I've been through hell in this life.
"I have only one request, after I am gone, please don't say anything to Kanchan (his wife) but do get her treated," he said.
The police official said Nahar probably made this video around three hours before his death.
The official said they are awaiting postmortem report to understand the cause of Nahar's death and how he died.
In the "suicide note", purportedly written by Nahar, he mentioned about "politics" he faced in Bollywood, "unprofessional functioning and the lack of emotions in people working in the industry".
Further investigation is underway, the official added.
Here's the video and note that Sandeep Nahar shared on Facebook:
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Social media ban for children under 16 starts in Australia
Melbourne(Australia) (AP): Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed a world-first social media ban for children younger than 16 that took effect Wednesday as families taking back power from tech giants but warned the implementation would be difficult.
Parents reported distraught children discovering they'd been shut out of platforms as the landmark law took effect. Some young children reported fooling the platforms' age estimation technology by drawing on facial hair. Parents and older siblings are also expected to help some children circumvent the restrictions.
“This is the day when Australian families are taking back power from these big tech companies and they're asserting the right of kids to be kids and for parents to have greater peace of mind,” Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
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“This reform will change lives. For Australian kids ... allowing them to just have their childhood. For Australian parents, enabling them to have greater peace of mind. But also for the global community, who are looking at Australia and saying: well, if Australia can do it, why can't we?” Albanese later told a Sydney gathering of reform supporters, including parents who blame social media for a child's suicide.
Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube and Twitch face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (USD 32.9 million) from Wednesday if they fail to take reasonable steps to remove the accounts of Australian children younger than 16.
Australia to report by Christmas if social media ban is working
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The ban will be enforced by Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant. She said the platforms already had the technology and personal data about their users to enforce the age restriction with precision.
She would send the 10 targeted platforms on Thursday notices demanding information on how the age restriction was being implemented and how many accounts had been closed.
“We will provide information to the public before Christmas on how these age restrictions are being implemented and whether preliminarily we see them working,” Inman Grant said.
“The responses to these notices will form the baseline against which we will measure compliance,” she added.
Communications Minister Anika Wells said the age-restricted platforms “may not agree with the law and that's their right — we don't expect 100 per cent universal support," but that all had undertaken to comply with the Australian law. She said more than 200,000 TikTok accounts in Australia had already been deactivated by Wednesday.
Wells also warned young children who had so far evaded detection that they would eventually be caught. A child who used a virtual private network to appear to be in Norway would be caught out if they were routinely posting images of Australian beaches, Wells said.
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“Just because they might have avoided it (detection) today doesn't mean they will be able to avoid it in a week's time or a month's time because social media platforms have to go back and routinely check under-16 accounts,” Wells said.
“These social media platforms have so much data on us because we choose to give it to them because we like social media and because you've had your older brother scan their face for you today, which has bought you a bit of time, doesn't mean that these accounts aren't going to see you talking to other 14-year-olds tonight about the under-16 soccer carnival on weekend, about your upcoming school holidays and what your Year 10 teacher is next year,” she added.
Albanese said the implementation would be difficult and “won't be perfect.”
“This is about, importantly, pushing back against big tech, saying that social media companies have a social responsibility,” he said.
Father of sextortion scam victim says social media ban is a start
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Wayne Holdsworth, who became an age restriction advocate because his son Mac took his own life after falling victim to an online sextortion scam, described the new law as a start. Children must now be educated about online dangers before they turn 16.
“Our kids that we've lost haven't died in vain because today they'll be looking down very proud of the work that we've all done,” Holdsworth told the Sydney gathering.
Flossie Brodribb, a 12-year-old advocate for a social media ban for young children, told the gathering she hoped other countries would follow Australia's lead.
“This ban is bold and brave and I believe it will help kids like me to grow up healthier, safer, kinder and more connected to the real world,” Flossie said.
Simone Clements said the social media ban would come at a financial cost to her 15-year-old twins Carlee and Hayden Clements. Carlee is an actor, model, dancer, singer and influencer. Her brother is an actor and model.
“I know that our situation is unique to our family because the kids are in the entertainment industry and social media goes hand-in-hand with the entertainment industry. We have used social media in the most positive way. And it's a platform for them to basically show their portfolio, and … this is an income stream for the children,” the mother told ABC.
Clements said the biggest impact on her children would be the loss of their young followers online.
