Bengaluru man arrested for secretly filming 'fashionable' women also targeted tourists in Goa

The offending account, which boasted over 10,000 followers, frequently featured clips of women who appeared visibly uncomfortable or unaware they were being filmed. (File photo)

The Bengaluru Police have arrested a 26-year-old man after a woman's Instagram exposé brought to light a disturbing trend: women being secretly recorded in public spaces without their consent. This is the second instance of a crackdown on an Instagram account secretly filming and sharing posts on women. According to the police, Gurudeep Singh not only filmed women in Bengaluru but also in Goa.

Speaking to Moneycontrol, the police confirmed the arrest, stating that a suo motu FIR was registered at BSK (Banashankari) Police Station a couple of weeks ago. They also cautioned the media and social media users not to mention or display the page name as it is still live and in the process of being taken down, to prevent more people from visiting and downloading such content.

The recent account, which claimed to capture "street fashion" and "street scenes" in bustling areas like Church Street and Koramangala, was allegedly targeting and filming unsuspecting women, often from behind and at suggestive angles. "The account has also shot similar videos in Goa," a police officer told Moneycontrol.

The matter came to light after one of the women who was recorded came across her own video. She took to X to call out the account and stated that she had never consented to being recorded. Despite reporting the video and requesting its removal, her pleas went unanswered. Distraught by the influx of "obscene messages" she received after the video's viral circulation, she decided to speak out publicly and shared a video on Instagram where she detailed how the man operating the page would follow and record women, feigning to capture general street activity.

The offending account, which boasted over 10,000 followers on Instagram, frequently featured clips of women who appeared visibly uncomfortable or unaware they were being filmed. The woman condemned the act as a clear violation of privacy and consent, emphasising that being in a public area does not grant permission for one's image to be filmed or shared online. She also debunked the common misconception that a public social media profile implies open consent for content use.

Unable to directly tag the problematic account after reporting it, she sought help by tagging the Bengaluru Police and the cybercrime department, which quickly drew the attention of law enforcement.

Similar incident
In May, an Instagram account triggered an uproar on social media after it emerged that the user had been secretly recording women passengers on Namma Bengaluru Metro trains without their consent and uploading them online. The Bengaluru police registered a case, and the accused was arrested.

The account, Bangalore Metro Clicks (@metro_chicks), has 5,605 followers, and the associated Telegram channel had 1,188 subscribers. The Instagram profile has 13 videos, and comments on them have been disabled. Some of the videos carry texts on them, such as "finding beautiful girls on Namma Metro" and have disturbing clips of women being followed and filmed without their knowledge.

A user who came across the account shared it on X and tagged Bengaluru Police urging them to take action against the "pervert".