Thrissur: City police on Friday took Akhil, the brother of fugitive history-sheeter Arjun Ayanki, into custody after conducting an extensive search across Thrissur in an effort to trace the latter.
Ayanki has been on the run after allegedly threatening the Kothamangalam Circle Inspector.
Multiple police teams led by the Thrissur City Assistant Commissioner of Police carried out searches at various locations across the city. Checks were intensified at Naikkanal Junction and Thekkinkadu Maidan after investigators traced Ayanki’s mobile phone location to the Naikkanal area.
According to the investigation team, Ayanki changed vehicles for a second time while travelling from Palakkad to Thrissur, allowing him to evade the police once again. Investigators believe he slipped out of surveillance after leading officers on a chase across the city for nearly an hour.
Police have also located a car believed to have been used by Ayanki. Meanwhile, his brother was taken into custody in Thrissur and is being questioned as part of the investigation.
Police continue to search several parts of the city following intelligence that Ayanki may be hiding in Thrissur. An alert has been issued to all police stations in the district, and the search operation has been intensified, officials said.
Amid the intensive police hunt, Ayanki appeared on social media, posting an Instagram story seeking financial support for his legal battle. The post, which included a QR code for contributions, appealed to supporters to donate towards his legal expenses. He also claimed that his opponents had falsely portrayed him as a gold smuggler and millionaire.
The confrontation between Ayanki and the Ernakulam Rural Police dates back to May 3, when officers conducted a pre-dawn raid at a resort near Punnekkad in Kothamangalam under ‘Operation Steel Bird’, targeting habitual offenders ahead of the assembly polls. Led by the Kothamangalam SHO, the police arrested Ayanki and five of his associates under organised crime charges on suspicion of assembling to plan criminal activities.
Ayanki spent 21 days in judicial custody before being released on conditional bail. Soon after his release, he posted a series of aggressive messages on social media targeting the Kothamangalam SHO, alleging that the police had fabricated cases against him. In those posts, Ayanki warned that he would not allow the officer to enjoy a peaceful retirement. The police also alleged that sexually explicit and threatening messages were sent to women in the officer’s family.
The latest confrontation comes after the High Court on August 3 refused to grant Ayanki, a native of Kannur, pre-arrest bail in a case registered over alleged threats against the Kothamangalam Station House Officer (SHO) and his family. Following the order, Ayanki has remained out of police custody.
Hours after the court rejected his plea, Ayanki posted on Instagram a screen recording of a direct message conversation with the Oonnukal SHO regarding his proposed surrender.
However, later on the same day, Ayanki sent the Oonnukal SHO a three-minute voice message accusing the police of tracking the phone locations of his associates despite his willingness to surrender. In the audio, Ayanki announced that he had reversed his decision to surrender and challenged the police to arrest him.
Referring to his earlier arrest and 21-day judicial custody, Ayanki had also made fresh remarks targeting the Kothamangalam SHO.
