Police booked an unidentified man for harassing and filming women at an automated teller machine (ATM) in Islambad after a video of him apologising to the women went viral on social media, it emerged on Wednesday.

The first information report (FIR), a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was registered against the suspect on Tuesday (Dec 21) at the capital's Kohsar police station under section 354 (assaulting or using criminal force against a woman and stripping her of her clothes) read with section 509 (insulting modesty or sexual harassment) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

According to the FIR, a video widely circulating on Twitter had come to police's notice wherein a woman, who appeared to be recording the incident, was heard asking a man why he had been "recording our videos and harassing [us]". At that, the man said "sorry" and fled, the FIR said.

In the video clip, available with Dawn.com, another woman (not the one recording the video) is seen telling the man that she is calling the police helpline, which is when he runs, with the woman running after him.

The FIR said a close analysis of the viral video revealed that the incident had taken place in Islamabad's F-6 Markaz.

Meanwhile, the video clip saved in a universal serial bus (USB) was taken in police custody as evidence in the case, the FIR stated.

"The unidentified man filmed and harassed women visiting an ATM, thereby committing an offence under section 354 read with section 509 [of the PPC]," it said.