Surat: Umra police have arrested a cleaning staff member of the popular K’s Charcoal Restaurant in the upscale Piplod area. The cleaner is accused of secretly recording videos in the women’s washroom. The incident came to light when a female customer noticed a mobile phone placed on the ventilation grill of the restroom. She raised an alarm, after which the Umra police seized the device and began an investigation.

The accused, Surendra Rana, a 30-year-old native of Jharkhand, had been working as a sweeper at the restaurant for two years. Police recovered two mobile phones from his possession, including one used solely for recording videos without a SIM card to avoid disturbances. Preliminary examination revealed five obscene videos suspected to have been filmed inside the washroom, along with pornographic links and searches in his browsing history. Police also seized the rear portion of a spy camera from his house, while the main device remains untraced.

According to police, Rana would record videos on one phone and later transfer them to another device. CCTV footage confirmed his suspicious movements in the washroom area, after which he initially fled but was later tracked down and arrested. His younger brother is also employed at the same restaurant.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Vijaysinh Gurjar said over 50 employees work at the restaurant, most of them men, and all their mobile phones have been checked as part of the inquiry. He added that Rana’s phone will be sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for detailed digital analysis, while efforts continue to trace the missing part of the spy camera and verify if others are involved.

The shocking incident has sparked outrage and raised serious concerns about women’s safety in public places. DeshGujarat