Actress expresses shock and indignation over misuse of memory card in Kerala assault case

Kochi, April 13 (IANS) A leading south Indian actress, who was a victim of an alleged assault in 2017, has demanded a court-monitored probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Kerala Police into the unauthorized access of a memory card containing visuals of her ordeal. Expressing her displeasure, she called the situation “unfair and shocking”.

The actress took to social media to share her concerns, stating, “This is unfair and shocking. The report on how the hash value of the memory card containing visuals of my assault has changed is tragically shocking. It’s very scary to know that my privacy is not safe in the court. But I will continue my fight until I get justice.”

Hash values function as fingerprints for files, providing a unique numerical value that identifies the contents of a file after being processed through a cryptographic algorithm. The victim had previously reported being abducted and sexually assaulted by a gang of goons in 2017 who filmed the act to blackmail her.

Following the incident, she has demanded an SIT probe by Kerala Police into the alleged unauthorized access of the memory card, which was in the custody of a trial court. In 2022, the actress moved the high court, alleging that the memory card seized as evidence was accessed, copied, and transmitted without authorization.

After the arrest and questioning of Sunil, the main accused in the case, well-known actor Dileep was accused of being the main conspirator. Dileep had spent several weeks in jail before being released on bail. The court is set to consider the victim’s request for an SIT probe when it reconvenes after the summer break next month.

–IANS sg/arm