Camera in women’s dressing room: Reward announced for arrest of absconding suspect

The move comes after the Allahabad high court directed the UP chief secretary to nominate an officer, not below the rank of principal secretary, to conduct an inquiry

The Ghaziabad police on Monday has announced a reward of ₹1 lakh on the arrest of a temple caretaker at Muradnagar’s Upper Ganga Canal, who was booked for allegedly filming women changing clothes at the dressing room on the banks of a canal using a CCTV camera.

Police said an FIR was registered against suspect Mukesh Giri after a 45-year-old woman filed a complaint saying that she was filmed by the man on May 21 when she came for a bath. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The move comes after the Allahabad high court, on August 23, directed the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary to nominate an officer, not below the rank of principal secretary, to conduct an inquiry into “non-disclosure of material particulars and evidence” in the case.

The alleged incident happened at the site \popularly known as “Chota Haridwar”.

Police said an FIR was registered against suspect Mukesh Giri after a 45-year-old woman filed a complaint saying that she was filmed by the man on May 21 when she came for a bath. In the FIR, she alleged that Giri had placed a CCTV camera facing towards the changing room and watched the live feed of women changing clothes there.

Police after the incident maintained that they found a CCTV camera placed above the changing room and they also recovered the feed of the past five days (from the date of incident) and it had about 200 women changing clothes.

“A reward of ₹1 lakh was announced on his arrest. The hearing in the case is going on at the high court and we are trying to get the suspect arrested,” said Naresh Kumar, assistant commissioner of police, Masuri/Muradnagar.

Investigators from the Muradnagar police station said the reward was announced by the Ghaziabad commissionerate.

Giri has approached the high court in a bid to obtain anticipatory bail.

The high court during the last hearing over the petition on August 23 came down heavily on the police.

It said that by not disclosing the material particulars and evidence “indicative of negligence and lapses” on the part of authorities and directed that an inquiry to be set up and be conducted by an officer not below the rank of principal secretary to be nominated by chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh.

The court will next hear the matter on September 12.