4 arrested at boutique in India after hidden camera found

India’s ruling party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA’s of the state of Goa Michael Lobo, left, and Pramod Sawant stand outside a “Fabindia” showroom in Candolim, India, Friday, April 3, 2015. AP

PANAJI, India— Indian police arrested four people Friday following a federal government minister’s complaint that a niche boutique in the southwestern resort of Goa had a closed-circuit TV looking into a changing room where she was trying out clothes.

Police officer Umesh Gaonkar said the four boutique employees face charges of insulting a woman and outraging her modesty, which carry a maximum prison sentence of two years. They will be formally charged in a court at the end of the police investigation.

Human Resources Development Minister Smriti Irani was in the store on Friday when one of her assistants informed her about the camera, which the officer said was aimed through the changing room’s ventilator, said Nilesh Rane, another police officer.

The store is in the beach village of Candolim, popular with international tourists.

The camera was found to be recording customers inside the room, Gaonkar said.

Michael Lobo, a state lawmaker belonging to Irani’s governing Bharatiya Janta Party, told reporters that the camera had recorded footage of “women changing clothes over the past three to four months.”

Complaints of hidden changing-room cameras have been pouring in from around India.

“Not just this boutique. All stores with such a facility must be investigated,” opposition Congress party spokesman Durgadas Kamat demanded.

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