Hundreds of women employees of Tata Electronics Private Limited in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu, staged protests this week after a hidden camera was discovered inside a bathroom of the company’s women’s hostel near Hosur, sparking widespread outrage and raising serious concerns about safety and privacy.
The incident unfolded at Vidiyal Residency, a facility housing over 6,000 women, mostly migrant employees working at Tata Electronics’ Apple supplier unit. On November 2, a 22-year-old employee from Odisha, Neelukumari Gupta, placed a miniature camera in the bathroom of her hostel room at the instruction of her boyfriend, Santhosh, who was later arrested in Bengaluru. Gupta reportedly installed the device in a bathroom shared with women from northern states and confessed to the act when her fellow residents noticed suspicious behaviour.
The discovery prompted immediate panic and anger among the hostel inmates, leading around 2,000 women to gather for protests both inside and outside the premises. Parents of many employees rushed to the hostel on learning of the breach, while several women reportedly packed their belongings and left for their hometowns. District officials and police, including the Sub-Collector and Superintendent of Police, quickly deployed over 100 personnel to manage the unrest and assure the women of a thorough investigation.
Authorities arrested both Gupta and her boyfriend, registering a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Women’s Harassment Act, and the Information Technology Act. Investigators are scrutinizing footage recovered from the device and launched searches of every hostel block to check for other hidden cameras. Ten police teams, including women officers, were pressed into service to maintain security and investigate the incident further.
Company management and district officials said all hostel rooms would be inspected by technical experts to prevent further breaches. Meanwhile, local law enforcement pledged strict action and regular monitoring to ensure the safety of women employees. Krishnagiri Collector Dinesh Kumar also promised accountability for any failure to report the incident to authorities in time.
The episode has reignited debates on women’s safety at the workplace and hostels, with workers demanding systemic reforms, regular surveillance checks, and stronger legal consequences for privacy violations.
