The Maharashtra police on Sunday arrested the manager of a farmhouse in Navi Mumbai for allegedly installing a hidden camera to record female guests in a washroom.
The accused, identified as Manoj Bhagwan Chowdhari, allegedly set up a ‘spy camera’ in the washroom of the farmhouse in Panvel, and recorded videos of three women who stayed there over the weekend, news agency PTI reported quoting police officials from Taloja police station.
After the accused was caught red-handed, one of their relatives approached the police station and filed a complaint.
Chowdhari was booked under Section 77 (voyeurism) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act.
According to News18 report, investigations revealed that he had also stored several such videos on his mobile phone and had even circulated them with malicious intent.
Not the first case this month
About two weeks ago, a similar incident in Hyderabad's Yousufguda made it to the headlines.
A case was registered after a couple found a hidden camera inside a light bulb holder in her bathroom on October 13, reported news agency ANI.
The woman told police that she had informed the house owner that the bulb in her washroom was not working, after which he along with an electrician, Chintu, came to her residence for the repair work while she was at work.
{{/usCountry}}The woman told police that she had informed the house owner that the bulb in her washroom was not working, after which he along with an electrician, Chintu, came to her residence for the repair work while she was at work.
{{/usCountry}}After a few days, her husband noticed that a screw had fallen from the bulb holder. After conducting a few checks, the couple discovered a camera hidden inside it. They immediately informed the house owner, who came to their residence and took away the bulb holder.
After some time, the owner returned with the holder, which appeared to have been tampered with and covered using plaster, and told them that it was “not working” and asked them to check it themselves.
When the woman told the owner that she would file a complaint, he tried to stop her by assuring her that he would bring the electrician to the house to settle the matter.
After a couple of days when the couple asked about the electrician, the owner said, “When he gets out of jail, the electrician will blackmail you; it's up to you.”
The couple filed a complaint on the same day. The police registered a case under relevant sections of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita.