Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, June 16: Bellandur police in Bengaluru have arrested Arun, a priest from Kerala's Peringottukara temple, on charges of attempting to rape a Bengaluru woman and blackmailing her with a nude video.

Another accused, the chief priest Unni Damodaran, is currently absconding, and police have launched a search for him. It is alleged that the chief priest and Arun committed this act by threatening the woman with black magic, after she had gone to the temple for a pooja.

Case details
A Bengaluru woman, troubled by family problems, learned about the Peringottukara Temple in Kerala through a video shared by friends on social media. She hoped that performing a puja there would solve her problems, so she visited the temple.

While there, the woman, who could not communicate in Malayalam with the priests, met Arun, who spoke Tamil and Kannada. He spoke to the woman and promised to perform a pooja for Rs 24,000. Arun took her mobile number and called her multiple times after she returned to Bengaluru.

Blackmail in the name of black magic
Arun called the woman and threatened her, saying, "You are affected by black magic. I will perform a pooja to remove it. You must do as I say."  He then appeared nude during a WhatsApp video call and forced the woman to do the same. When she refused, he threatened to perform black magic on her children, compelling her to comply. Afterward, he asked her to return to the temple for another special pooja.

Attempted rape and case filed
Fearing the blackmail, the woman went to the temple. There, Arun and the chief priest, claiming a religious ritual, forcibly took her in a car to a forest and attempted unnatural sexual acts, according to the complaint.

Deeply traumatised by the incident, the woman returned to Bengaluru and filed a complaint with the Bellandur police.

A case has been registered against the arrested Arun under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.