Case I: A young girl was dancing with her friend in a Park Street disco. Suddenly, she noticed a youth taking her picture with his mobile phone. She challenged the youth, but he ran out. So she and her friend chased him and alerted the police posted on the pavement. The policemen managed to catch the youth but could not arrest him since the girl refused to make a formal complaint. The police found the photographs of a number of young girls stored in the mobile phone folder. Before returning the handset, police erased all the photos. The youth was warned against repeating the offence.

Case II: A youth in his mid-20s uses the photographs of pretty girls as the screen-saver of his mobile phone. He stalks the beauties in bars and restaurants of south Calcutta. Last week, he was caught while snapping a girl. She noticed him while he was focusing the lens of his mobile phone on her. As the girl protested, the staff of the bar called policemen from Shakespeare Sarani police station. This time, too, the girl refused to make a written complaint. Police released the youth, but only after deleting the photographs.

Wiser after the arrest of the two youths of Jadavpur, who secretly used to take photos of their neighbour, a lady teacher of a high school, city police have warned snap-happy Romeos against using spycams. Or else, there?s trouble in store.

?We have received a number of complaints of young girls being secretly photographed with camera phones in restaurants, bars and discos. Had the victims come forward to make an official complaint, we could have taught them a lesson,? said Anuj Sharma, deputy commissioner of police (south), under whose jurisdiction most discos are located.

Elaborating on the modus operandi of these Romeos with camera phones, an officer of the detective department, said: ?They first pick a girl whom they want to photograph. They focus the lens on the girl and snap. The girls fail to notice it most of the time as they think either the man is surfing his phone-book or playing games.?

Sharma warned the culprits, saying: ?To date, we have released them because no official complaint was made. From now, even if no one comes forward to do so, we shall inform the offender?s family. They will be released only after their parents or a family member come to the police station.?

On legal action, an officer at Lalbazar police headquarters said: ?We may book them under Section 305 (outrage of modesty) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of Indian Penal Code. Besides, we may book the offender under Information and Technology Act if he is found downloading the photo in a computer.?