Gurugram: A group of American women staying at the Courtyard by Marriott in Gurugram Downtown have accused a man of secretly filming them while they were sunbathing within the hotel premises.
The alleged incident, which came to light through a video posted on social media, has triggered widespread concern about the safety and privacy of foreign visitors in India.
"Someone Is Filming Us and They Are Not Being Discreet"
The video, which has since gone viral with over 8 million views, shows the women pointing toward a hotel room from where they claim the filming took place. In the clip, one of them can be heard saying, “Someone is filming us and they are not being discreet.”
The caption of the post read, “Well it looks like we’re going to have to find a new past time… If you’re a female planning on coming to India, I wouldn’t come without a bodyguard of a man lol. Whether you are sunbathing or fully clothed, we are finding this behaviour very common in India.”
Have a look:
Social media users responded with a mix of support and outrage. While many expressed solidarity and demanded accountability from the hotel, others highlighted the murky legal framework surrounding filming in public and semi-private spaces in India.
While filming someone in a public setting may fall into a legal grey area in India, doing so in a truly private space is punishable by law.
In a follow-up post, the tourists attempted to contextualise the incident, noting cultural differences in clothing expectations. Sharing another video, they wrote, “To explain further, the dress in Delhi India is very conservative. Even when swimming, women typically wear clothing so they are fully covered… As Floridians, anything goes in our book!”
The Courtyard by Marriott has not issued an official statement yet.
