Kerala temple assistant arrested for sexually assaulting Bengaluru woman

Bengaluru: The Bellandur police on Monday announced the arrest of a temple priest’s assistant from Kerala, who allegedly sexually assaulted a woman from Bengaluru.

The arrested suspect is Arun TA, 40, a BA graduate who worked as an assistant to a priest at the Sree Vishnumaya Swamy Temple in Thrissur. He was booked under sections 64 (rape) and 78 (stalking) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The 38-year-old victim from Haralur in Bengaluru had approached the temple in November 2024, seeking a solution to the problems she was facing after the death of her husband in 2016. She told the police that she was hurt emotionally due to several issues in her family, including financial troubles and a property dispute.

She alleged that Arun met them at the temple and introduced himself as a member of the board after they had difficulty understanding the priest, who only spoke in Malayalam. Since the woman spoke Tamil and the suspect was fluent in it, they both communicated.

The victim told the police that Arun claimed someone had performed black magic on her family, and they were in grave danger. He sought her contact details for further communication and asked them to wait for his calls.

However, the suspect used the contact details to harass the woman sexually via video calls. He made lewd gestures and advances towards her. She also told the police that she was sexually assaulted several times and threatened with black magic.

After discussing it with her family, the woman filed the complaint on May 29. The police then traced Arun and arrested him in Kerala on June 13. Further investigation has been initiated, the police said.