The owner of a leading pan chain was arrested in Hyderabad on Friday for allegedly raping a techie after offering her a sweet pan laced with sedatives, police said.
33-year-old Upendra Verma was arrested after the woman lodged a complaint against him at the Kachiguda police station. Three others who helped him in trapping the techie and some other women, were also arrested.
The woman alleged that the accused cheated her by promising to marry her. Upendra, who runs a chain of high-end pan shops in the city, allegedly took her intimate photos and videos and blackmailed her by threatening to post them on YouTube.
She told the police that she came in contact with him through Facebook four years ago and they became friends and the friendship later developed into an affair. She alleged that he sexually exploited her one night after offering a pan laced with sedatives.
The techie said when she suggested that they should get married, he refused and threatened to post her pictures and videos on social media.
“He said he will marry me and sexually assaulted me several times. He took me to resorts, where he gave me pan which made me feel drowsy. He recorded videos and took pictures of us in compromising positions, with which he threatened me,” the woman was quoted as saying.
The police are investigating if Upendra and his friends also trapped other women and exploited them.
A case was registered by the police under Sections 376 (Rape), 354 (C) (Voyeurism) and 417 (Punishment for cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Three of Upendra’s friends, identified as Ajit Kumar, Manish and Mohammed Shazab, were also booked under Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and let off on bail.
Upendra has been remanded to 14 days in judicial custody.
IANS inputs