Karnataka Police have arrested a temple priest from Kerala for allegedly blackmailing and attempting to rape a woman from Bengaluru. A second priest, believed to be the main accused, is still absconding.
According to police, the arrested man has been identified as Arun, a priest at the Peringottukara temple in Kerala. Authorities are currently searching for Unni Damodaran, the main priest of the temple, who is accused of playing a leading role in the crime.
The woman, struggling with financial issues, was advised by friends to visit the temple at Peringottukara for spiritual help. She had also watched videos that convinced her the temple’s rituals could solve her problems.
When she visited the temple, she was introduced to Arun and later to Unni Damodaran. Police said the priests gained her trust, then began making inappropriate WhatsApp video calls. One of them, Arun, even made a nude video call and demanded the same from the woman. When she refused, he allegedly threatened to harm her children through black magic.
“He told me someone had done black magic on my family. He said he could reverse it, but I had to follow his instructions,” the woman told police.
Arun acted as a translator, as the victim only spoke Tamil and Kannada, while the priests primarily spoke Malayalam. He convinced her to pay ₹24,000 for a special ritual and kept contacting her repeatedly.
Terrified by the threats, the woman traveled to Kerala for the ritual. There, the two priests allegedly took her to a forest area and attempted to force her into “unnatural sex,” claiming it was part of a ritual. She somehow managed to escape and later filed a complaint at the Bellandur Police Station in Bengaluru.
“She was terrified and shocked,” said an officer involved in the case. “We are taking her complaint very seriously. One priest is under arrest, and the search for the second is ongoing.”
Police said further investigation is underway, and support is being provided to the survivor.
