Bengaluru, Jun 16 (PTI) A 40-year-old man from Kerala was arrested on charges of raping a woman and blackmailing her using her nude photos and videos, police said on Monday.
The accused, Arun T A, who hails from Thrissur, was working as an assistant to a priest at a temple in Kerala, they said.
Besides Arun, the woman has also accused the chief priest of the temple of attempting to sexually assault her, police said, adding efforts are being made to nab him.
The matter came to light after a 38-year-old woman approached Bellandur police station with a complaint on May 29, police said.
According to the police, in her complaint, the woman alleged that she had visited the temple in October 2024 after her husband passed away. She was facing issues and visited the temple to offer prayers and seek solution to her problems. There she came across Arun who befriended her.
The suspect told her that someone had performed blackmagic against her family and that was a reason why she was facing issues in life.
He promised to solve her problems and collected her contact details. On the pretext of solving her problems, he started video calling her. He allegedly made lewd gestures and advances towards her, a senior police officer said.
The woman alleged that he asked her to appear naked on video calls. He sexually assaulted her and threatened to perform blackmagic against her if she did not comply or disclosed about the incident to anyone else, he said.
Based on her complaint, a case was registered and Arun was arrested, police added.