Police examine footage from multiple cameras; lack of clear visuals emerge as challenge; search still on to find out real molesters
Police examine footage from multiple cameras; lack of clear visuals emerge as challenge; search still on to find out real molesters
The special squad probing the sexual assault against two women actors at the HiLITE mall is yet to find any concrete evidence against a youth who was reportedly slapped by one of the actors on the spot on charges of molestation attempt. Though the police examined footage from 34 mobile phone cameras and seven professional video cameras, they couldn’t find any signs that the youth was behind the assault.
“While examining the visuals with the support of cyber experts, we found that the accused was actually falling down, unable to withstand the rush at the spot. There weren’t any visuals on camera in which he was seen misbehaving with the actor. The claims he raised to defend himself were also found true during our interrogation,” said a senior police officer who is part of the 21-member special squad. On completion of formalities, the complainants would be explained about the scientific procedures adopted to establish the fact, he added.
The officer said an investigation was conducted into the incident after tracking around 40 persons who were present at the spot. “The lack of clear visuals from some crucial spots emerged as the biggest challenge to identify the real molesters in the crowd. Also, the CCTV camera was not functional at the spot where one of the actors complained of sexual assault,” he said.
The police arrived at the conclusion after holding 12 review meetings. IT experts from the Kerala Police Cyberdome were present throughout the investigation. According to police sources, the youth voluntarily appeared before them seeking a fair probe.
The special squad members also pointed out that a search was still going on to find out the real molesters. They said more persons could be identified for quizzing based on the visuals collected from multiple locations such as retail outlets and ATM counters at the mall.
It was on September 27 that the actors were reportedly sexually assaulted while they were returning from the mall after a promotional event. The incident came to light the next day through a video posted by one of the actors who slapped the suspected person in the crowd. The video had gone viral prompting the police to swing into action.
