Violation of Privacy in Mall Changing Rooms

AHMEDABAD: It might never occur to patrons in a shopping mall looking for clothes to be concerned about being watched in a changing room. But times are changing – in particular, in Ahmedabad. Police have come up with a disturbing case of shoppers being photographed in the nude.

Kagdapith police station team were tipped off about a series of pornographic clips being specifically alterned for mobile phones being sold at the Goodluck mobile shop, located in a mall close to Gita Mandir. On Thursday, they raided them. Many clients had purchased a two-minute clip for Rs 100. Cops were shocked by the findings.

More than 100 films taken by spy cameras were seized from the shop’s computer. All the clips were from malls all over Ahmedabad. The victims were mainly women in changing rooms. Hidden cameras were the culprit, and victims were unaware they were being filmed, police said. There were also clips of couple in intimate positions.

Cops arrested the shopkeeper, Asfaq Chhipa, who refused to cooperate. Later in the day, police paid a second visit to the sealed shop with a computer expert from the forensic science laboratory (FSL) who cracked the password. Contents in the computer continued to be investigated on Friday. Suspicions are that a gang was involved, and possibly linked to mall employees.