Police personnel stationed outside Vidiyal Residency, the women’s hostel of Tata Electronics Limited, in Nagamangalam in Krishnagiri.
| Photo Credit: Bashkaran N
Sporadic sit-in protests continued for the second day on Thursday at the TATA Electronics’ Vidiyal Residency – the hostel for women workers, with the protesting women demanding a ‘deeper probe’ into the discovery of a camera in the bathroom of a colleague, an incident that was overshadowed by allegations of ‘cover-up” by the hostel management, in Nagamangalam in Udhanapalli.
The protesters staged a sit-in within the campus behind the gates of the sprawning multi-storied, 12 block campus of workers hostels, while the locked gates were fortified by a large posse of police stationed since Tuesday night.
On Sunday, a watch-shaped camera was sighted by a woman in her bathroom in the 4th block. Inquiry led to the arrest of an employee — 22-year-old Odisha woman, Neelu Kumari Gupta, and her male friend, for taping the camera behind the exhaust fan.
Police interrogation has now revealed a conspiracy between Neelu Kumari and her male friend, a Bihar native Rajvir Singh, whom she had known from her time in Odisha.
Contrary to Neelu Kumari’s earlier accounts that she was forced into the crime by Rajvir Singh, she had consented in order to make money, a police source told The Hindu. “She was taken in by the possibility of making money and volunteered.”
On Thursday, an independent technical team of experts of Tata Electronics are combing the blocks and no other devices were found, said a source.
While the incident occurred on Sunday, the police were not notified, nor were the residents informed of the breach, till the news trickled down two days later culminating in massive protests late Tuesday evening.
The alleged hush-up apparently triggered speculations of ‘multiple cameras’, and panic among the residents, hailing largely from backward, rural areas, many of whom had only returned to the hostel after production shifts. According to the police, the company was conducting an internal inquiry in the intervening period, when the protests broke out on Tuesday night after news leaked.
The protests that began late Tuesday evening, swelled into the night and continued into Thursday with sporadic sit-ins by workers demanding an exhaustive probe. There were also disagreements within the protesters, with some wanting to go home, while the others demanding solidarity for the protests with their presence. On Wednesday, local workers and from neighbouring regions of Tamil Nadu were seen exiting the hostel temporarily intending to return soon.
Police team flies to Bihar
A five member police team from Udhanapalli flew from Bengaluru to Bihar to apprehend the co-accused Rajvir Singh, who is on the run.
In a statement shared on whatsapp by a third-party spokesperson, the company has stated “the safety, privary and well being of our employees is our topmost priority. When we learnt of an incident involving one of our employees in our residential facility in Hosur, we took immediate action and reported the matter to the police. We are addressing this incident with utmost seriousness and care. We have policies in place to privde all the necessary support to our employees to provide safe, supportive workplace for all.”
Published – November 07, 2025 12:59 pm IST
