Chandigarh, June 20: The Chandigarh Police have registered a case under Section 77 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against Sandeep Bawa, owner of a spa in Manimajra, following allegations of unauthorised surveillance by a female client.
The complaint was filed by a woman from Sarangpur, who had booked an appointment at the spa through an online platform. During her visit, she grew suspicious about potential surveillance and immediately alerted the police.
A subsequent investigation revealed that a hidden camera had been installed on the spa premises. While the device lacked a hard disk and could not record footage, police found it was used to stream live video. Officials said the live feed was allegedly monitored by Bawa in real time, raising serious concerns over privacy invasion and misuse of surveillance technology.
During interrogation, Bawa claimed the camera was intended to monitor staff activity. However, police noted that the camera was not installed in a staff-only area, and there was no consent from clients for any kind of monitoring—an aspect that added to the gravity of the violation.
“Even though there was no recording, the live monitoring without knowledge or consent constitutes a serious breach of privacy,” said a senior police officer, adding that the act itself is punishable under the newly enacted BNS provisions.
Bawa was arrested during the investigation but has since been released on bail. Authorities have reiterated that privacy violations, even without data storage, will be treated as serious offences under the law. The case remains under further investigation.
