An IIT Bombay student spotted a mobile phone looming outside the bathroom window in the girls’ hostel, she raised an alarm immediately. On the same day, a night canteen worker was arrested for peeping on a resident while she was in the bathroom.
On spotting the camera, she called her friends for help and reported it to the college authorities, after which the Dean and SA Dean entered the premises. CCTV footage from outside the hostel building could not be produced due to broken cameras.
As the only men present in the hostel building, the night canteen staff were the first to be inspected. The five staff members who run the night canteen from 3:30 pm to 3 a.m., were interrogated at the Powai Police Station, after which one of them was arrested for under 354c IPC by Investigating Officer Santosh Sawant at Powai police station.
The bathroom in that particular wing of the H10 hostel is attached to a small platform jutting out of the building, which helped the worker stand and record. The canteen worker reportedly climbed up a pipe to access this platform. The night canteen was closed on Sunday due to the ongoing pest control, while the staff remained on site.
“Gaps in the ducts, which may have been used by the suspects, have been closed,” said the official statement from IIT Bombay.
“We are in discussions with the students to see what other additional steps we can take. IIT Bombay stands with its students and we will do everything in our capacity to ensure the safety and security of our students,” it clarified.
The Institute has also installed a new CCTV camera outside the H10 girls’ hostel building reported a student residing in the building.