On Wednesday (December 20), a man named Salim Ali was arrested in Jevargi in the Kalaburgi district of Karnataka for secretly installing a wi-fi camera in the bathroom window of the post-matric girls hostel for the minority community.
Reports say that accused Salim Ali, son of Hussain Baba was a tenant in the hostel’s neighbouring building. A native of Mandewala village, the accused used to sell garlic for a living. Using a pipe, he had let in a wifi camera through the bathroom window. The camera was connected to his mobile phone. However, the girls at the hostel noticed him walking around suspiciously near the bathroom when they were going to take a bath on Wednesday morning and informed the hostel warden about the same.
Following this, Salim Ali was caught by the warden and turned over to the police. Accused Salim, a father of three, was apprehended by police based on the complaint lodged by the hostel warden.
A News9 report says that one of the girls saw Salim adjusting the camera from the window and screamed. As the other girls came inside the bathroom, they saw the camera and nabbed the accused who was then thrashed by the locals.
The police arrived at Salim Ali’s house and took him into custody. Reportedly, the accused was thrashed by the locals before being handed over to the police. A case has been registered against the accused at the Jevargi Police Station under relevant sections. After the FIR was registered, the police arrested the accused.
During the interrogation, Salim admitted to watching the girls through the camera while they used the bathroom. The police are still investigating when the camera was installed and whether or not he shared the video recordings with anyone else. The police have confiscated the camera and other equipment, and an investigation is ongoing.
Meanwhile, Hulikuntaraya, a taluk officer for minorities welfare, stated the girl students found the camera around 6.30 a.m. and caught Salim, who resides nearby. He was later apprehended by the police. “There are over 50 inmates in the hostel and no such incident had been reported earlier”, he said.
This shocking incident warrants recalling a similar incident in the Udupi district reported earlier in July this year wherein three female students of the Muslim community allegedly secretly made a video of Hindu female students in the washroom of the Netra Jyoti college in Udupi and shared it on Muslim groups. After much controversy, an FIR was registered against the accused girls identified as Alimatul Shaifa, Shabanaz, and Alia.