3 hotel staffers use CCTV cameras to film woman, held

Suresh from Kerala reached Chennai on Saturday morning along with 10 family members, including six women, to attend a wedding at Egmore. They had booked three rooms at Central Inn on the Muthu Street in Periamet till Monday. While women stayed in two rooms, men occupied one room, said sources.

As they were about to leave for the wedding on Sunday afternoon, one of them noticed that a CCTV camera, installed in the veranda, turned towards a room and zoomed in to view the room closely. He suspected foul play but left for the wedding.

When he returned to the hotel, he noticed the CCTV camera turned towards the room in which the women from the family were staying. The police said that he informed his relatives and they picked up an argument with the receptionist. A heated argument ensued and in the melee, two men in the CCTV control room of the hotel were attacked.

Around 11 pm, they lodged a complaint with the Periamet police. After investigation, the police arrested Vijayakumar, Yasin and Musthafa. Further investigation is on.

However, the owner of the premises reportedly told police that CCTV cameras were turned towards the room only to check if somebody was entering the room without permission.

In December last year, Sampathraj alias Sanjay, owner of a ladies’ hostel in Adambakkam was arrested after it was found that he had kept hidden cameras in all the rooms.

A woman software professional, who was an inmate of the hostel, noticed a hidden camera in the plug socket. Subsequently, she informed the police. 

To the shock of the inmates, the police found secret cameras fixed in the bathrooms, dressing table mirrors, lamps and switch boxes in the rooms. Police arrested Sampathraj, who has also cheating cases pending against him.