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Kerala assault case: Actress says alleged illegal access of memory card ‘unfair and shocking’

The survivor said the judiciary is the final hope of every citizen and she would continue her fight with the belief that the sanctity of the judicial system in the country won't be destroyed. Actress-cum-survivor in the 2017 assault case on Saturday expressed shock over the report of a judicial probe carried out by the trial court regarding the alleged illegal access of memory card, a crucial evidence in the sensational case. On her Instagram handle, she posted a message saying that, it is “tragically shocking” to know that the hash value of the memory card had changed several times when it was under the custody of the court. She put up the social media post days after she had approached the Kerala High court urging it to order a fresh investigation into the alleged illegal access of the visuals of the incident contained in a memory card and a pen drive by different persons while these devices were in the custody of the subordinate courts. Privacy is the fundamental right of an individual, she pointed out in the Instagram post. The survivor said the changing of the hash value of the memory card while it had been under the court custody amounted to denial of fundamental right being guaranteed to her by the Constitution. “And it is very scary to know that my privacy is not currently safe in this court,” she said. This is unfair and shocking, the survivor added. She also said the report of the judicial probe carried out by the trial court in this regard was handed over to her as per the directive of the High Court.

"And it is very scary to know that my privacy is not currently safe in this court," she said.

The survivor in the assault case had moved the Kerala High Court urging it to order a fresh investigation into the alleged illegal access of the visuals of the incident contained in a memory card and a pen drive by different persons while these devices were in the custody of the subordinate courts. In her plea, the victim had claimed that a mere reading of the inquiry report with regard to the illegal access of the devices indicates that the authority carrying out the probe “never conducted a fair, free and complete” investigation as directed by the High Court. The victim had contended that the report is liable to be quashed and urged that a fresh probe be carried out by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under supervision of the High Court to uphold the majesty of law, maintain the purity of the legal system and protect her right to privacy. The actress-victim, who has worked in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films, was abducted and allegedly molested in her car for two hours by some persons who had forced their way into the vehicle on the night of February 17, 2017 and later escaped in a busy area. The entire act was filmed by those persons to blackmail the actress. There are 10 accused in the 2017 case, including actor Dileep, and police have arrested seven. Dileep was arrested subsequently and released on bail.