BENGALURU: On Saturday, a video clip titled ‘Man fits camera in geyser, blackmails woman' went viral on social media. The footage showed men chasing a motorist, blocking him, removing his helmet, and detaining him. Initial voices called for police intervention.
The incident occurred on a road in Electronics City Friday night. A man holding the motorist by the collar explained, "This person fitted a camera in the geyser at a home and was blackmailing the woman from that house, threatening her with nude videos and pictures."
A woman in her 20s, wearing a mask, confirmed the blackmail to the crowd. The angry group decided on moral policing and encouraged the woman to strike the man with her slippers; she complied.
Police arrived after being summoned by the crowd and took the accused man, the woman, and others to the station. The officers were initially sceptical, questioning how a camera could survive in a geyser's heat. The man, by then, claimed the allegations were false.
Sensing inconsistencies in the story, the cops separated the group. A woman officer privately questioned the woman, who then revealed a different story: She had actually taken her own nude pictures and sent them to the man during an ongoing affair.
"The affair got exposed and to protect herself, the woman told her husband and others that she had no knowledge of how her nude pictures had reached the man's mobile. She claimed he was blackmailing her, which led to their relationship," a cop said.
Police requested the woman file a complaint, but she refused. The man also declined to lodge a case against the crowd that had detained him. By midnight, everyone returned without filing any complaint. A senior police officer described it all as an affair that spiralled out of control.