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Kerala Police on Sunday, August 9, arrested Arjun Ayanki, a key accused in multiple criminal cases, after more than two days of an intense search operation. He was apprehended by a special squad of the Kerala Police from Kannur. Arjun Ayanki had been on the run after publicly mocking and threatening police leadership on social media platforms.
The special police team, led by the Northern Range Deputy Inspector General, had launched a search for him after he openly challenged State Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on social media and dared the police to arrest him. He was reportedly traced to an apartment following a tip-off from an autorickshaw driver.
According to reports, the arrest happened around 2.30 am. Arjun allegedly attempted to flee when the police reached the apartment where he was staying, but was later apprehended. His brother had been arrested earlier.
The action comes amid multiple cases against him, including allegations of threatening police officers through social media. After being released on bail in May in a criminal conspiracy case, Arjun posted online threats against the Kothamangalam Station House Officer, warning that he would not let him “live peacefully after retirement”.
The Ernakulam Rural Cyber Police have also registered a case over a Facebook post in which Arjun allegedly made derogatory remarks about former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
A native of Kannur district, Arjun Ayanki was a former member of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He openly spoke in support of the CPI(M) on social media, became a social media cyber activist for the party, and gained a following.
He came to wider public attention in 2021 in connection with an alleged gold smuggling network operating through Karipur airport. In May, Ernakulam Rural Police took Arjun and five others into preventive custody following a pre-dawn raid at a resort in Kothamangalam, alleging that they had assembled to plan criminal activities. The DYFI later expelled Arjun from the organisation.
