Bengaluru eatery reacts after woman claims she was filmed in washroom secretly

India Today

07-05-2025

A woman has publicly accused an employee of a Bengaluru eatery of recording her without consent inside its washroom.
In a detailed Instagram post, a woman who goes by the name 'itskrithu', recounted the incident which occurred on April 25 around 8pm, describing it as a harrowing experience that involved panic, confrontation, and what she calls emotional manipulation by the company's management.
On that particular day, the woman visited the Koramangala outlet of Anand Sweets & Savouries when she noticed something odd about the washroom's construction. She described the wall facing the commode as partially made of fiberglass and wooden slats, rather than solid brick.
'I sensed something was wrong. I tapped the fiberglass and decided to crouch down and look through the wooden strips. That's when I saw a phone placed on the other side,' she said in her post, adding: 'I looked at my hand to check if it was a reflection, but I wasn't holding a phone-only my menstrual cup. When I looked again, I saw the phone move. That's when I realised I was being recorded.'
Shaken but determined, she called her friend upstairs and began confronting employees, and also checked phones in front of the manager. She claimed that staff initially attempted to downplay the situation, urging her to 'calm down.' Unsatisfied with their response, she asked her friend to call the police.
Before the police arrived, she and her friend reviewed CCTV footage and eventually identified the suspect - a technician allegedly hired through a third-party agency. She claimed that the suspect left via a back exit. By 9:10pm, the man had been taken to the police station.
'For the next three hours, the accused kept denying everything. The police said unless we found the video or he confessed, they couldn't act. Around 1am on April 26, after repeated questioning, he admitted it,' she said, adding that the man claimed he had deleted the videos and begged for forgiveness, citing his newborn daughter.
The woman filed an FIR and left the police station, claiming that several employees attempted to convince her to drop the case. She also said the company's regional director, Mr Ramesha, met with her two days later but tried to minimise her trauma, suggesting she would "get over it in a few weeks" and referring to her as a daughter while simultaneously urging forgiveness.
'He tried to emotionally manipulate me by saying he saw me as a daughter. But no father would ask his daughter to forgive such an act. He shifted blame, saying the accused worked for a third-party agency and was a migrant worker they didn't even know,' she said.
Moreover, she claimed that Mr Ramesha made an attempt to 'block the door' as she tried to leave the meeting room in tears.
'I broke down and tried to leave, but Mr Ramesha blocked the door, saying other customers shouldn't see me cry. I felt trapped. My friend insisted they let me go. Mr Ramesha then asked the female employee to convince me. I asked her if she would be convinced if this happened to her-she had no answer. I walked out, but they kept my friend back to pressure him to calm me down,' she said.
'Since then, I've ignored all their calls. A day later, I got a call from the POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) committee of Adityavani asking to meet at Anand Sweets. I refused. They kept insisting, but I've been dealing with panic attacks and sleepless nights,' she added.
As her post went viral, several users commented on her post, applauding her for speaking up.
However, Anand Sweets & Savouries reacted in a statement soon after, saying: 'We are deeply disturbed by the incident reported on April 25 at our Koramangala outlet. We do not condone such behaviour - these actions are unacceptable. The individual responsible was a technician contracted for maintenance. He accessed the first floor by climbing the renovation scaffolding outside the building. We are fully committed to supporting the affected party and reporting the matter to the relevant authorities.'
In a subsequent post, the woman also shared a picture of the accused and CCTV footage of him 'clearly accessing the stairway by the washroom from the first floor.'
The woman concluded her post with a strong message, saying: 'To every woman out there: you're not paranoid for checking. You're not overreacting for speaking up. You're powerful. And you deserve safety - even in a washroom.'
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