Kannur: After days of evading a widespread police search and openly taunting the Kerala Police and the Home Minister on social media, criminal case accused Arjun Ayanki has been arrested in Kannur.

Ayanki was taken into custody around 2 am on Sunday while allegedly hiding at the house of a lawyer in Kannur. A police team led by the DIG carried out the operation and arrested him after an extensive search across Kerala and outside the state. He will be taken to Ernakulam.

Ayanki was wanted in connection with three cases. While in hiding, he had allegedly continued to challenge the police and the Home Minister, even using social media to provoke the authorities.

The police had been tracking him across different locations, but Ayanki reportedly managed to evade the investigation team by frequently changing vehicles and misleading them through his mobile phone.

A day before his arrest, police received information that he was in Thrissur. However, the search did not lead to his arrest. The investigation was later expanded to Palakkad as well.

The police also took Ayanki's brother Akhil into custody as part of the search for him.

Despite the ongoing manhunt, Ayanki continued to make claims about his whereabouts through social media. At one point, while police teams were searching for him, he reportedly claimed online that he was at a particular location.