Kochi, A fresh case has been registered against history-sheeter Arjun Ayanki for allegedly defaming the Kerala Chief Minister on social media, even as police continued their search for him across the state, officials said on Saturday.
The Ernakulam Rural Cyber Police registered the case on Friday night based on a Facebook post allegedly uploaded by Ayanki on August 5.
According to the FIR, Ayanki allegedly posted the content “with the intention and deliberate plan to defame the Chief Minister of Kerala in public and to create enmity and provoke a riot among the public.”
The post was uploaded from a Facebook account named “Arjun Ayanki” on August 5.
In the post, Ayanki claimed that Oommen Chandy was better than the current Kerala Chief Minister.
As per the FIR, he also called the current Chief Minister a “joker and liar” in the Facebook post.
The FIR alleged that the post was intended to influence the public and provoke public disorder.
Police have registered the case under Sections 296 for uttering obscene words in or near a public place and 192 for wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause a riot, of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form.
Kannur Cyber Police also registered a case against Ayanki for challenging State Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Friday.
The fresh case comes amid an intensified search for Ayanki, who is wanted in connection with a case involving alleged threats to police officers in Kothamangalam near here.
Police had detained his brother Akhil and two associates on Friday as part of efforts to trace him.
A native of Azhikode in Kannur district, Ayanki first came to public attention in connection with a gold smuggling network operating through Karipur airport in 2021.
The latest case against him stems from a police raid at a resort in Kothamangalam, where he and a friend were taken into custody on suspicion of assembling for criminal activities.
After being released on bail, Ayanki allegedly posted threatening messages on social media targeting the Kothamangalam Station House Officer who led the raid.
Based on the officer’s complaint, the police registered a fresh case against him.
The Kerala High Court recently dismissed Ayanki’s anticipatory bail plea.
Police alleged that after the dismissal of his bail plea, he continued threatening police officers by sending voice messages through social media platforms.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
