Kerala: 23-year-old burqa-clad IT professional arrested on suspicion of recording women

A 23-year-old IT professional named Abhimanyu has been arrested in Kochi for allegedly entering a women's washroom wearing a burqa and recording videos of women on his mobile phone. The incident took place on Wednesday at Kochi's Lulu Mall and the alleged offender has now been sent to a 14-day judicial custody.

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An officer from Kochi's Kalamassery police station told PTI that the accused, a B.Tech graduate, was booked under Sections 354(C) (voyeurism) and 419 (impersonation) of the IPC and Section 66 E of the Information Technology Act and was later produced before a local court.

Reportedly, the accused works with a leading IT company at Infopark in Kochi. On Wednesday, he went to Lulu Mall wearing a burqa and entered the women's washroom.

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The accused put his mobile phone in a small cardboard box and stuck it to the door of the washroom so that the camera could record visuals. He then went outside and stood in front of the main washroom door.

How was the accused apprehended? 

Security staff at the mall noticed the suspicious behaviour of the accused and quickly informed the police, who arrived on the scene and questioned him. It was later revealed through police interrogation that the accused was disguising himself as a woman in order to record visuals of women in the washroom, and the burqa and his mobile phone were subsequently confiscated and taken into custody.

Police say they are investigating whether the suspect has committed similar acts in the past.