The Southeast division police have arrested a 30-year-old quarry owner from Andhra Pradesh, who posed as a producer from the Kannada film industry and allegedly raped a television artiste from Mumbai after luring her to Bengaluru with an offer to act in a Kannada film.

The HSR Layout police arrested Ehsan based on a complaint filed by the victim recently.

According to the police, the accused, along with two friends met the woman at a birthday party in Mumbai in March and offered her a role in a Kannada film. The accused called the victim to Bengaluru for a ‘screen test’, booked air tickets and arranged for hotel accommodation in Koramangala.

When no intimation for the screen test came for two days, the woman demanded to meet the director of the movie. The accused assured her of a role and offered a cheque of Rs. 1 lakh.

He allegedly offered sedative-laced juice to the TV artiste and later raped her. He later blackmailed her saying that the rape had been filmed. When the woman got back to Mumbai and deposited the cheque, it bounced due to insufficient funds. With the help of a city-based NGO, she approached the police who took up the case and managed to arrest Ehsan from his hometown.

Efforts are on to nab his two friends who are on the run, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Rohini Katoch Sepat said.

He posed as a producer from the Kannada film industry and lured her

to Bengaluru