5 min readThiruvananthapuramAug 10, 2026 05:20 AM IST
For days, a former political worker-turned-history-sheeter had become a thorn in the side for Kerala Police. He would allegedly send out voice notes threatening police officers who took action against him, write “defamatory” posts against the CM on social media, and caution the state’s home minister against trying to “intimidate” him.
Over the years, Arjun Ayanki had built a substantial following on social media – his instagram handle has 1.29 lakh followers – where he would boast about his exploits and issue threats when not posting pictures of himself in various poses: reading a book, playing snooker, showing off a tattoo.
In the early hours of Sunday, luck ran out for the 29-year-old who was arrested from his hometown Kannur where he had gone to consult his lawyer.
According to police, Ayanki has 20 cases registered against him.
The immediate reason for his arrest was his threat to police officers who probed his recent alleged criminal activities.
In May, Ernakulam rural police had arrested Arjun and his friends from a resort, on charges of conspiring to commit a crime. Before the arrest, Arjun had announced through social media reels that the group had come to the city to attend a wedding.
After being released on bail in June, Ayanki took to social media to threaten the inspector who had arrested him. Even as police moved the court to cancel his bail, Ayanki continued to issue threats to police through social media, inviting a fresh case against him.
His last threatening post to police was on August 6 following which the search for him was intensified.
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After being arrested on Sunday, he was remanded in judicial custody. On Monday, Ernakulam rural police will seek his custody in connection with the latest case pertaining to threatening an inspector, officials said.
ADGP (Law and Order) P Vijayan told the media: “Challenging the police is tantamount to challenging society. The police are meant to serve society and are an integral part of it. Hence, such challenges to the police have to be seen as challenges to society itself. There should not be any more Arjun Ayankis.”
He said, “We had been tracking him (Ayanki), but he kept moving from one location to another… While the police were pursuing Arjun, the Home Minister (Ramesh Chennithala) gave us clear instructions to follow the rule book.”
Reacting to Ayanki’s arrest, Chennithala said Kerala is not a land of gangsters but of peace-loving people and asserted that no one was above the law.
The making, and unmaking, of Ayanki
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A dedicated worker of the CPI (M) and local leader of its youth wing DYFI at Azhikode in Kannur, Arjun was among the first party workers to burst onto the social media scene. As the CPI(M) came to power in Kerala a decade ago, Ayanki’s social media presence grew and he developed a dedicated fan base.
However, sources said, the apparent decline in political violence in the state forced several criminal gangs, once hired by political parties, to scout for new avenues. Ayanki then nurtured a gang, which later took to smuggling gold from the Middle East.
In 2021, Ayanki faced a setback when five members of his gang, who were chasing another gang in a bid to seize a consignment of gold smuggled through Kozhikode airport, were killed in a road accident. Probe into the smuggling racket led the Customs department to Ayanki who was then arrested.
After his name figured in the smuggling racket in 2018, Ayanki, in a facebook post, claimed that he had snapped ties with the CPI (M).
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As the CPI(M) increased its distance from him, Kannur Police, in 2022, recommended action against Ayanki under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA), describing him as a habitual offender. The KAAPA proceedings were later cancelled by the Advisory Board, which held, among other things, that the customs gold-smuggling case did not fall within the relevant statutory framework.
After being released on bail in the smuggling case, Ayanki continued his tryst with the criminal world. In the next two years, he got involved in three other criminal cases one of which was related to a robbery of a gold trader in Palakkad, said police. Ayanki remained in judicial custody till 2024.
Once out of jail, he continued to enjoy his social media clout until he rubbed the CM and the Kerala home minister the wrong way.
Two days ago, he termed Satheesan “a liar and a buffoon”, stating that his presence on the CM’s chair was “an insult to Kerala”.
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Following home minister Chennithala’s warning to goons threatening police officers, Ayanki wrote, “Don’t try to intimidate me”.