After a judicial enquiry report revealed details of those who accessed the memory card containing visuals of the 2017 Kerala actor assault case, the survivor in the incident said it was “unfair and shocking” how her privacy was violated in court. “I received the judicial enquiry report on the changes in the hash value of the memory card related to my case, and it’s tragically shocking,” the actor said on Saturday, April 13.
Pointing out that privacy was everyone’s fundamental right, she alleged she was deprived of her basic constitutional rights when the hash value of the memory card — containing the visuals of the sexual assault — changed multiple times while in custody of the court. “It is very scary to know that my privacy is not currently safe in this court,” she said.
The actor added that when a victim faces such a horrid experience from the court that was supposed to provide them strength, those who have been hurt get destroyed, and those who hurt end up feeling proud. “Yet, I believe that the era of a sincere judiciary has not ended, so I will continue my fight until I get justice. I will continue my journey with hope, with the belief that the sanctity of the judicial system, which is the last resort for every Indian citizen, will not be destroyed,” she said.
The enquiry report, based on the investigation by the Ernakulam District and Sessions court, had recently revealed that Angamaly magistrate Leena Rasheed, Personal Assistant Mahesh Mohan of the Ernakulam District Judge, and trial court official Tajudeen accessed the memory card while it was in the custody of different courts. Mahesh was working in the Ernakulam Principal and Sessions Court where Kauser Edappagath was the judge while Tajudeen was an official of the trial court under Justice Honey M Varghese.
The probe into the leak started after an examination by the State Forensic Science Laboratory found that the memory card, which was supposed to be in the safe custody of courts, was found to have been illegally accessed thrice. This happened on January 9 and December 13 of 2018 and July 19, 2021.
The assault on the actor happened in a car in Kochi on February 17, 2017. While the police zeroed in on the main accused Pulsar Suni in a week, actor Dileep was accused as the mastermind of the crime after a few months. The trial which began in early 2020 is still going on.