On July 21, 2023, a video scandal unfolded in Karnataka, at a private eye hospital and nursing home, Netra Jyoti, located in Udupi, when some of the female students found cameras inside the bathrooms. Following the recovery, the college administration suspended as many as three girls with immediate effect.
On July 26, the Malpe police in Karnataka instituted two separate FIRs relating to the matter. The move came following a widespread backlash on social media against the police’s inaction. The first FIR was registered against three female students who filmed other students in the washroom, and the second case was linked to uploading the same video to YouTube.
The accused girls, identified as Shabanaz, Alfiya, and Alimath Ul Safa were booked under Indian Peanl Code (IPC) Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 204 (secretly destroying electronic record), 509 (intending to insult the modesty of any woman) and Section 66 E of the Information Technology.
Almost after eight months after the registration of the FIR and the arrests made in the videotape scandal case, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has filed a chargesheet against the trio in the Udupi Principal and JNMF Court.
Notably, the accused girls were granted bail by a local court in July last year.
Following a thorough investigation, the CID revealed that Shabanaz, Alfiya, and Alimath Ul Safa had placed mobile phones in the washroom to capture footage of their classmates. Subsequently, they deleted the videos in an attempt to destroy evidence.
Initially intending to record a ‘friend’ using the girls’ washroom, the trio inadvertently recorded another girl. After the matter became public, they confessed to the college administration and later penned an ‘apology letter’ to the victim.
The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) confirmed the accused’s handwriting in the apology letter. CID DySP Anju Mala filed the chargesheet.
The CID emphasised the absence of external organisation involvement or any ‘communal angle’ in the crime.
Speaking to the media, a CID officer stated, “We collected additional forensic evidence from the phones, and the girls confessed during the investigation. Based on this, we filed charges against them. Despite claiming it was for amusement, their actions constitute a punishable offence.”
Another CID officer informed the media that the video was purportedly not shared and was promptly deleted by the accused, rendering retrieval unsuccessful.
The matter escalated when it was revealed that all the accused students belonging to the Muslim community were collecting the clips of Hindu students only. Later on, they supplied these clips to the men in their community.
Further reports indicate that the intrusive videos were not just limited to private sharing but were also disseminated on wider social media platforms. Many link this incident with the famous rape scandal in Ajmer, in 1992.
As soon as the truth came out, the Hindu students protested and demanded strict action be taken against the perpetrators. However, a scuffle broke out as the accused clashed with them, leading to high tensions in the college.
Later, taking the situation under control, the college administration issued a notice, stating that all three accused girls would stay suspended until further orders. By then, the incident had made it to the media headlines, and activists had also reached the college.
Notably, the local Hindu activists extended their support to the students and protested against the college administration, demanding exemplary action in the case.
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