Thiruvananthapuram : The shocking incident of a live mobile camera being hidden in the ladies' toilet of a leading hotel in Kozhikode in northern Kerala has caused a ruckus in the town, and raised concerns across the state.
The incident came to light on Thursday when a girl who was using the toilet found a suspicious object on the ceiling of the toilet. On examination, she found it was a mobile camera, strategically placed on the ceiling, to capture visuals of those who used the toilet.
The girl and her friends then called up a male friend of theirs and confronted the hotel management, and soon the police also arrived on the scene. Reports say that the girls refused to hand over the camera to the policemen who turned up at the hotel, insisting that they would only give it to the city police commissioner.
Severely beaten
Local media reported that the police who reached the scene beat up the girls' friend who came to their help rather than take the alleged culprit into custody. Reports added that the youth who came to the girls' help was severely beaten up at the police station, too, and had to be hospitalised.
Following wide media attention, the police today arrested one of the hotel's employees, identified as Akhil Jose, under various sections of the Information Technology Act. The hotel management pleaded ignorance of the employee's act, stating that they had no clue about what he was up to.
The camera reportedly had over an hour's recording of the inside of the toilet, and the contents of the video are now being scrutinised by investigators.
