Recently, a man was arrested in Bengaluru following a complaint about an Instagram page. The complaint claimed that videos of women were being secretly recorded and shared in public places, such as Church Street and Koramangala. This disturbing trend, known as 'creep shots,' is gaining momentum in the toxic corners of social media.
An account named Indianwalk uploaded a video of an unsuspecting student on Church Street. After going viral, the student began receiving lewd messages on social media. India Today's OSINT team discovered 23 other accounts on YouTube and Instagram where content creators, not getting enough views on regular content, resorted to secretly filming women.
Source: aajtak
For example, the YouTube account BiOdiaGuy (Bengaluru in Odia Guy) has 1.7K subscribers and 221 videos. Their initial temple travel vlogs featuring places like Konark, Basavanagudi, and Jagannath received only a few hundred views, but a random video on Koramangala nightlife easily garnered 1,500 views.
Source: aajtak
Subsequently, their content became inappropriate. Women became targets on Church Street, MG Road, and Koramangala, especially during festivals like Holi and in the vicinity of bars and bustling streets.
Videos of unknown couples in parks were also captured. Frequently, unrelated women were depicted in suggestive poses in banner images, yet the issue at hand is the non-consensual creation of such videos. This is not an isolated case. Non-consensual videos of women are rampant on the internet from Delhi Metro, Bengaluru pubs, and marketplaces of Chandigarh. Often they are unsuspecting, shopping, dining, or strolling, unaware of cameras focusing on specific body parts, despite being fully clothed.
Source: aajtak
Another example is the Instagram handle Dilbar Jaani, boasting 37.9K followers. Initially, their music videos did not receive much attention, but later, their feed became filled with secretive captures of women on Bengaluru streets. Metro stations, a daily commute space for women, have turned into hunting grounds for creep shots in both Delhi and Bengaluru. There's no safe haven; privacy is on sale.
From schoolgirls to college students and working women, hundreds of women are filmed without consent, with the footage transitioned into content for sale. These videos are accessible only to subscribed members who pay a fee. Everyday moments bundled as clips are sold on YouTube, starting from INR 199 per month. One channel has over 11,000 followers, offering over 100 clips at subscriptions ranging from INR 199 to INR 799 per month. With cameras in every hand and surveillance cameras on every corner, can our privacy remain intact even in fully clothed public spaces?
