Kerala: Man in burqa caught recording video in women's washroom in Kochi mall; arrested

When the accused was caught at Lulu Mall, he initially claimed that he was a transgender and lesbian to escape arrest. However, the accused a Kannur native, Abhimanyu, was handed over to the Kalamassery police.

Kochi: A 23-year-old IT professional was arrested after it was reported that he entered a women's washroom while wearing a burqa in a well-known mall in Kerala and captured their recordings on his phone. The accused, ML Abhimanyu, a B.Tech graduate, was arrested on the same day for violations of Sections 66 E of the Information Technology Act, Sections 354(C) of the IPC, and Sections 419 (Impersonation). 

He was then produced before a local court, which sentenced the defendant to 14 days in judicial custody, according to a police official from Kalamassery police station.

The incident happened on Wednesday at the Lulu Mall when the suspect, who works for a reputable IT company with an office in the Infopark, allegedly entered a women's washroom while wearing a "burqa" and left his mobile inside. He placed his phone inside a little cardboard box, punched a hole for the camera to record images, and attached the box to the loo door.

The report claimed that after this, the suspect left the area and stood in front of the washroom's front door.

The mall's security staff observed the accused's strange and evasive attitude and alerted the police, who arrived on the scene promptly and questioned him, the officer added.

When questioned, he admitted to dressing as a woman and using his mobile to record what was happening in the washroom, according to the police. The accused was then taken into arrest after his burqa and mobile were seized, the statement claimed.