A 21-year-old man was taken into custody in Bengaluru for allegedly filming and sharing explicit videos of women, police officials confirmed on Thursday. Authorities stated that the accused secretly recorded sexual acts involving two different women and later distributed the videos. The Karnataka Police arrested him following an investigation into the matter. The individual has been identified as Mohammad Sawad, a BBA student attending a Bengaluru college and originally from Kodagu district. Police said the case highlights growing concerns over privacy violations and the misuse of personal content circulated online.
The case came to public attention after M S Prasanna Bhat, president of the Kodagu Development Committee, received the videos on his WhatsApp from a Napoklu resident on January 21. Bhat subsequently filed a formal complaint with the police, reporting that the obscene material involving the young man and the two women was being widely shared across social media platforms. The FIR stated that the visuals appeared to be self-recorded and depicted the accused engaging in sexual acts with both women on separate occasions.
Police verification confirmed that the individual in the videos matched the description of the accused student. Following the complaint, a case was registered on January 22 under Sections 79 and 294 of the Indian Penal Code, relating to acts intended to insult a woman’s modesty and the circulation of obscene material, along with relevant sections of the Information Technology Act. A senior officer confirmed that Mohammad Sawad had been arrested and that further investigation was ongoing to track the distribution of the content and identify any other parties involved.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, the Karnataka DGP issued a public advisory on data privacy and security. Citizens were urged not to share personal information online, to enable two-factor authentication on accounts, to use strong passwords, and to remain cautious about fraudulent customer service numbers. The warning came as authorities emphasized the risks associated with digital content sharing and the growing need for vigilance in protecting personal data from misuse or exploitation on social media platforms.