The suspect Swapnil Nagesh.
Credit: Special Arrangement
Bengaluru: The Electronic City police on Wednesday arrested an employee of a prominent tech firm in the city for recording videos of women employees inside the office washroom.
The arrested suspect, Swapnil Nagesh Mali, 30, from Sangli in Maharashtra, worked as a technical analyst and senior associate consultant at Infosys in Electronics City, southeastern Bengaluru.
Before this, Nagesh worked as a software engineer with another city-based IT firm and holds a B Tech degree in mechanical engineering, as per his LinkedIn profile.
Police said Nagesh, who is unmarried, has been booked under BNS Section 77 (voyeurism) and Section 66E (violation of privacy) of IT Act.
A senior police officer told DH that Nagesh was caught red-handed on June 30 after he managed to record videos of two women in the washroom. Nagesh had joined the firm just three months ago. “Two videos were recovered from the recycle bin on the suspect’s mobile phone,” the officer said. “The mobile phone will be forensically analysed to know if there were more such videos. The suspect will be produced before the magistrate on Thursday.”
The victim who approached the police on July 1 is a 35-year-old technical test lead at Infosys. She told the police that she resumed working from the office for 10 days a month after the company mandated it.
On the day of the incident, she logged in and, at around 11 am, went to the women’s washroom on the third floor of the IQE wing, building 38, Gate 6. The victim told the police that when inside, she saw some reflection on the mirror and felt as if someone had removed something from the door partition. When she came out, she saw another woman employee exiting the washroom stall next to her, the FIR noted.
She went inside and, around five to six minutes later, saw someone recording on the mobile phone, the FIR noted. The victim stood up on the commode only to see the suspect, Nagesh, standing on the commode in the next stall with the phone in his hand.
Immediately, Nagesh began apologising. The victim ran out and cried for help. Nagesh was caught by two HR executives, and when they checked his mobile phone, they found the video.
As Nagesh continued apologising, the victim demanded the video be deleted. The FIR noted that the HR took a screenshot of it as evidence before deleting it. The woman approached the police the following day after discussing with her husband. “We have learnt that the suspect had recorded a video of another employee before the complainant’s video was recorded,” a senior officer said.
Infosys terminates the suspect
The company, in a statement, said: "We are aware of this incident and have taken necessary action against the employee, who is now separated from the Company. We also promptly supported the complainant by facilitating a swift complaint with the law enforcement authorities and continue to cooperate as they investigate further. Infosys is committed to providing an environment free of harassment and has a zero-tolerance policy. We take every complaint related to any violation of the Company’s Code of Conduct seriously."