CCTV footage of couples kissing in Hyd Metro station elevator leaked, probe begins

A spokesperson for L&T Metro told TNM that they regret the privacy of those shown in the video being compromised due to the leak.
CCTV footage of couples kissing in Hyd Metro station elevator leaked, probe begins
CCTV footage of couples kissing in Hyd Metro station elevator leaked, probe begins
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Four videos of couples kissing in a Hyderabad metro elevator have been leaked from the CCTV control room. The video grabs have now gone viral and were even aired by the Telugu media. Though no formal complaint has been filed, police say those behind the leak and those media houses that aired the footage have broken the law.

The elevators at Hyderabad Metro are meant to facilitate movement of the elderly and the disabled from the station concourse to the streets. All of them are equipped with CCTV cameras. The video clip that has since gone viral shows couples entering the metro elevator unaware of the presence of the camera. Only one of the four couples spotted the camera.  It is unclear from which station the footage has been leaked from.

The spokesperson for L&T Metro told TNM that they regret the privacy of those shown in the video being compromised due to the leak, “We have begun investigation and are yet to ascertain which station this happened at,” said the spokesperson, who added that the L&T Metro is expected to conclude their investigation either on Monday or Tuesday.

A senior police officer on the condition of anonymity told TNM that it would be best for the L&T Metro to approach the police and file a formal complaint. 

The official said, not just media houses, anyone airing such videos even if they have tried to mask identity could still attract criminal provisions under sections, 66E (violation of privacy), 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material), 67A (publishing or transmitting of material containing sexually explicit act) and 67B (cultivates, entices or induces children to online relationship with one or more children for and on sexually explicit act ) of the IT Act, 2000. 

Those who aired or shared the video could also be booked under IPC section 354C for voyeurism and section 354 for outraging a woman's modesty. “These provisions could attract a maximum of three years in jail, but if any of the couple shown the elevator video are minors, then the case would become more serious and those involved could get up to five years jail time,” the officer added.

"All those who had access to the content in the CCTV server must be interrogated, they should be questioned, from there they will identify who is the culprit behind the leak. But for a case to be filed, either L&T Metro will need to approach the police or one of the people whose video was aired could complain or the police could take this case up suo moto. If the media house has shown this video on air, then they too will face the music," the officer added. 

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