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Actor assault case: HC orders copy of memory card inquiry report to be handed to survivor

The report will make it clear as to who had accessed the memory card

(FILE) Dileep appears in court | PTI

Actor Dileep faces another setback in the actor assault case. The Kerala High Court directed that the report of the inquiry into the change in hash value of the memory card containing visuals of the crime while it was in the court's chest be handed over to the survivor. Justice K Babu accepted a request by the complainant seeking a copy of the inquiry report.

The hash value of a memory card changes when it is used in different devices to access its content. Dileep has asked for the report to be labelled as a confidential document. The eighth accused in the case, Dileep demanded that he too be given a copy of the report. Justice K Babu rejected the plea. 

The survivor will have to file an application with the District Principal Sessions Judge for a copy of the report. The report will make it clear as to who had accessed the memory card. The survivor had earlier requested the trial court to inquire who had illegally examined the memory card and asked that the owner of the phone should be found. 

Thiruvananthapuram Forensic Lab found that the hash value of the memory card had been changed. The SFSL report said that the memory card was accessed illegally several times after court hours on the phone. The survivor had approached the Sessions Court to obtain a copy of the report. The request was denied on the grounds that the report was a confidential document. She then filed a petition with the High Court. 

In February 2017, an actor from the Malayalam film industry made a police complaint that she was sexually assaulted in a moving vehicle and that the assault was taped. Dileep's name became associated in the case after a letter written by one of the perpetrators to the actor emerged.