It has emerged that the memory card comprising the actor assault visuals treated as evidence in the case against actor Dileep were inspected illegally -- thrice -- while it was in the custody of the courts.
It is alleged that forensic examination of the memory card found a name, 'Nikhil' in the login credentials of a game in a phone that was possibly used to check out the contents.
The first suspected inspection of the card took place at 9.58 pm on January 9, 2018 when the evidence was in the custody of a magistrate court in Angamaly. Then, the card was plugged into a laptop.
Again, on the night of December 13, 2018 at 10.58, an android phone was used to connect to the memory card.
The third incident reportedly took place at 12.30 pm on July 19, 2021 when the card was in the safe custody of the trial court handling the actor assault case, in which actor Dileep is an accused.
In the latest case, a Vivo phone with a Jio simcard was used to connect the memory card, forensic reports have revealed.
Based on the forensic examination, the hash value of the memory card was found altered thrice. However, it is unsure if the visuals on the card were accessed or tampered with.
The three inspections were reportedly done without the consent of the court as there are no records suggesting an approval given for the same.
The investigating officers are hoping to find the owners of the laptop and the two mobile phones that were used to connect the memory card.
Earlier, the survivor, a popular female actor, had expressed concern over a leak of the evidence from the custody of the court.
The investigators presented the findings before the trial court on Wednesday. They are hopeful of getting an extension of three weeks for the completion of the probe from the High Court of Kerala in the wake of the recent developments.
