Police in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru have arrested a 23-year-old employee of a Third Wave Coffee branch for allegedly placing a mobile phone in the ladies’ restroom to secretly record videos.

The accused, identified as Manoj, a resident of Guttahalli in Bengaluru and originally from Shivamogga, was arrested after a customer discovered the smartphone. The device was hidden in a dustbin in the toilet and was found in recording mode to capture footage of the toilet area.

The customer immediately alerted the management, who rushed to her aid. Upon investigation, it was found that the phone belonged to Manoj, who had been working at the cafe for six months. The management dismissed Manoj from his position following the incident.

The incident came to light on Saturday (August 10) after a social media post about it went viral. Basundhara (@gangsofcinepur) shared details of the incident in an Instagram story.

“I was at a branch of @thirdwavecoffeeindia in Bengaluru this morning and this is what happened: A woman found a phone in the washroom hidden in a dustbin, pointed at the toilet seat. It had been recording video for about two hours. It was set to flight mode so it doesn’t make any noise, and was carefully hidden in a trash bag with a hole made in it so only the camera was visible,” the post read.

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Following the social media outcry, Third Wave Coffee’s official account on X (formerly Twitter) responded by stating that the accused person had been fired. “We regret the unfortunate incident that occurred at our BEL Road branch in Bengaluru and would like to reiterate that such actions are absolutely unacceptable at Third Wave Coffee. We have acted swiftly to resolve the situation by immediately firing the individual and ensuring the safety of our customers,” the company said.

Police have arrested Manoj under Section 77 (voyeurism) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and relevant sections of the Information Technology (IT) Act. The mobile phone has been seized as evidence and further investigation is on to ascertain the motive behind the crime, a police official said.