Hours after arrest, Woman's World owner secures bail

Farnaz Alam, owner of Woman's World – an accused in a case over installing close-circuit TV cameras at her Dhanmondi beauty parlour, including the changing room – has been granted bail just hours after being arrested.

According to sources of the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court, she was granted bail this afternoon (13 January) after the police arrested her earlier today. 

She was returning to Dhaka from Dubai in an Emirates flight when she was detained at the airport immigration today, A police official involved in the case told The Business Standard.

Abu Taleb, assistant commissioner of Dhanmondi zone said, "After the immigration police informed us, we took her into our custody and then sent her to Dhaka CMM court."

But as she is an expecting mother, the police won't seek for her to be placed on remand, he added.

Earlier on 27 December, police arrested three people in this connection – Taslim Arif Illiyus, Emdadul Hasan, and Jewel Khandaker.

They were placed before the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Wednesday (27 December) and later sent to jail, according to Dhaka court's General Recording Officer Sub-inspector Mahfuzul Hasan.

"All of them are staff of the beauty parlour named Woman's World," he said, adding that they were arrested in a case filed with the Dhanmondi Police Station over the CCTV camera installation in the parlour.

The case accused five people, including the parlour owners Taslima Chowdhury Kona Alam and Farnaz Alam.

"Police are trying to arrest the remaining two," said Mahfuzul.

Dhanmondi Police Station Officer-In-Charge Parvez Islam said police raided the parlour on Tuesday (26 December) night following a complaint from a woman.

During the raid, police found eight CCTV cameras and eight DVR boxes installed in the changing room and other places of the beauty parlour.

The police officer said the arrested staff claimed that the CCTV cameras were installed with the instructions of the owners and that police were trying to arrest them.

OC Parvez said the woman did not want to file any case, hence a case filed by the police.

There is recorded footage found from CCTV cameras and now police are trying to confirm whether the footage was used for any criminal or illegal purposes.

The High Court in 2011 ordered the removal of CCTV cameras from the service rooms of all beauty parlours, both for men and women, in the country.