Man Detained After Videos Of Bengaluru Women Shared Online Without Consent
A 26-year-old man accused of operating an Instagram account that posted videos and photographs of women in Bengaluru without their consent was arrested following a woman's viral Instagram post.
The suspect, identified as Gurdeep Singh, a hotel management graduate currently unemployed, was detained at his residence in KR Puram area of Bengaluru. He lives with his brother and is now in police custody after officers took up the case on their own.
The account in question had been posting video clips primarily filmed on Church Street, a popular commercial and pedestrian area in central Bengaluru. The clips featured women walking in public spaces, often appearing unaware or startled when the camera was pointed at them. Several videos showed women being followed discreetly as the person behind the lens captured footage under the guise of documenting "street chaos."
The case came to light when a woman took to Instagram to raise an alarm over the content, alleging she had been recorded without her knowledge or permission while walking in the city. Her attempts to have the video removed, including filing reports through Instagram's built-in mechanisms, were unsuccessful.
In her post, she said, "This person walks around Church Street pretending to film the 'chaos' - but in reality, all they do is follow women and record them without their consent. It happened to me. And I'm sure many others have no idea they've been filmed too. Just because my account is public doesn't mean I consent to be filmed publicly. That is not how consent works."
She further alleged that the video had resulted in her receiving vulgar messages from strangers online.
According to the police, efforts to pull down the Instagram account have been complicated by the platform's internal policies. Police have said they are now preparing to seek judicial intervention to compel Meta, Instagram's parent company, to take down the account.
This arrest comes just weeks after a similar case involving another social media account, which gained notoriety for uploading unsolicited photographs and videos of women travelling on the Bengaluru Metro.
The man behind that account, 27-year-old Diganth from Hassan district, was arrested in June. He worked in the accounts department of a private firm and admitted to filming women during his daily commute. His Instagram handle, which had attracted over 5,000 followers, was flagged by users on X (formerly Twitter) and was eventually removed after a formal complaint and investigation.
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