BENGALURU: A gram panchayat member has been accused of raping a 28-year-old woman who he met on social media website.
The accused has been identified as Ahmed Pasha, a resident of Shanubhoganahalli, who is currently a member of Bilawaradahalli gram panchayat.
The victim, a resident of RT Nagar, befriended the accused on a social networking site, the police officer said.
A senior police officer said based on a complaint by the victim, Pasha and his driver, Wahid, have been arrested on Thursday and interrogations are underway.
Preliminary investigation revealed that Pasha befriended a woman on social media and offered her a job as a model. Recently he asked her to join him while distributing food kits to the poor people during Covid-19 lockdown.
On June 14, he called her to meet and booked a cab. She believed him and went to BTM Layout along with her two kids. Then he asked his driver Wahid to pick her and the driver took them to his farmhouse, where he allegedly threatened her with a gun and raped her.
He also clicked her nude photos to threaten her and said he would leak the photos on social media if she talked about this incident to anyone else.
Pasha gave some snacks to her kids and made them to in the hall before he called her inside the room, the police officer added.
Pasha was taken for medical tests soon after the arrest and he confessed to the crime.
Both the accused will be handed over to judicial custody on Friday after the complete interrogation, an investigation officer said.