A Bengaluru woman recently took to social media to share her ordeal after she allegedly discovered that she was being filmed inside the toilet of a popular eatery in Koramangala. As soon as her post caught the attention of online users, the restaurant issued a statement, acknowledging the incident and saying that they were cooperating with the authorities. It all started after the woman narrated her nightmare in a series of posts on Instagram. She revealed that the incident took place on April 25 at Anand Sweets and Savouries' washroom.
In her post, the woman said she had gone to the restaurant to use the toilet as her friend suggested that it was a "well-known and trusted brand". However, once inside, the woman claimed that she saw a gap in the cement wall and decided to check it.
"At the first-floor washroom, I noticed the wall in front wasn't fully made of bricks. Instead, the center part had fiberglass at the top and wooden strips at the level of the commode. I was on mu period and needed to empty my menstrual cup. While doing so, I sensed something was wrong. I tapped the fiberglass and decided to crouch down and look through the wooden strips. That's when I saw a phone placed on the other side. I saw the phone move. That's when I realised I was being recorded," she wrote in the post.
The woman immediately ran outside and asked the store's manager to check the phones of the staff and find the man who was allegedly recording her. "I was shaking and crying, but determined not to let the person go," she wrote. She also said that her request fell on deaf ears, and she decided to call the cops.
Before the arrival of the police, the woman said she checked the CCTV footage and found the culprit. He was then dragged to the police station, where he confessed to filming her. "He confessed, claimed he deleted the videos, and begged for forgiveness, even calling me 'didi' and saying he had a newborn daughter. That only made me angrier. On checking his phone, I found images of other women from the internet alongside his baby's photo," the woman wrote.
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Further, she claimed that the restaurant employees tried to talk her out of taking any action. The company's regional director also allegedly told her that she "would be over this in a few weeks". "He tried to emotionally manipulate me by saying he saw me as a daughter. But no father would ask his daughter to forgive such an act," she wrote.
"I broke down and tried to leave, but Mr Ramesh (regional director) blocked the door, saying other customers shouldn't see me cry. I felt trapped.. I've been dealing with panic attacks and sleepless nights," she said.
"They told me to stay quiet 'for my business' and to 'move on.' But I refused. Because silence protects predators. To every woman out there: you're not paranoid for checking. You're not overreacting for speaking up. You're powerful. And you deserve safety-even in a washroom," the woman wrote in the caption of her post.
Reacting to the allegations, Anand Sweets and Savouries issued an online statement.
The restaurant stated that they are cooperating with the authorities. "We are deeply disturbed by the incident reported on April 25th at our Koramangala outlet. We do not condone such behaviour - these actions are unacceptable. The individual responsible was a technician contracted for maintenance. He accessed the first floor by climbing the renovation scaffolding outside the building. We are fully committed to supporting the affected party and reporting the matter to the relevant authorities," the eatery wrote.
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