Kochi: A top South Indian film actress who was abducted and sexually assaulted by a gang in early 2017 has alleged attempt to destroy evidence in the case. "Unauthorisedly reading the memory card of the mobile phone while it was in the custody of the court was a clear attempt at destroying evidence," the actress told the High Court of Kerala.
Her counsel pointed out that the footage in the memory card constituted the prime evidence in the case. It is easy to copy a memory card after it is inserted into a mobile phone. If the visuals are altered, destroyed, or tampered with, the case of the prosecution would be affected in an adverse manner. The abductors had recorded the crime on mobile phone.
The demand was put forth by the survivor's counsel while Justice K Babu was hearing the petition filed by her demanding that an investigation should be conducted under the supervision of the court into the incident. The hearing was adjourned till July 7 after the counsel for actor Dileep, one of the accused in the case, asked for time to submit the response.
The crux of the argument
Supreme Court Advocate Gaurav Agarwal who appeared for the survivor pointed out that the subordinate courts had granted permission only for examining the visuals in the pen drive. The footage in the pen drive is a forensic copy of the original memory card. Permission had been sought to examine the footage after the counsel for the prime accused, Pulsar Suni, was changed.
Considering the woman's application, the court had granted permission on July 19, 2021, to examine the visuals. The counsel also argued that the forensic examination had proved that a Vivo phone had the original memory card initially. There is a serious case of conspiracy involved in these developments.
Social media apps such as WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram had been installed on this phone, Agarwal said. He also claimed there would be serious consequences if the footage gets leaked on social media. The investigation must also check whether any changes were made in the memory card and whether the videos have been leaked or used for any purpose, he demanded.
Only an investigation can find out whether those who had attempted to destroy the crucial evidence in the case had succeeded in their effort. Changing the counsel for the first accused also gave rise to suspicions. The visuals in the memory card were examined on January 9, 2018, while it was in the custody of the Judicial First-Class Magistrate Court, Angamaly, and on the night of December 13, 2018, while it was with the District Principal Sessions Court. The computer and the mobile phone used for this purpose should be traced, the counsel argued. The actress also demanded that the phone should be scientifically examined. The Director General of Prosecution, T A Shaji, did not oppose the demands raised by the survivor. He said that the trial was in the last phase and pleaded that the process should not get delayed further.
