Kannur: A couple who went missing from Thalassery in Kannur district has been arrested after they were located in Coimbatore by the Kerala Police.

Raj Kabir and wife Sreevidya allegedly fled upset over the Thalassery Municipality's move to shut down a furniture store they were running. They reportedly wrote a letter stating they were harassed by civic authorities.

The Municipality had earlier served a notice to the business couple claiming they had encroached on public property at Thalassery town. The Municipality had also demanded over Rs 4 lakh as fine for the encroachment. As they failed to pay the penalty, the Municipality served them an eviction notice.

The couple had approached the Kerala High Court and obtained a stay order against the eviction notice. The court also allowed them to pay the fine in installments.

The husband and wife fled in a bid to corner the civic authorities, police said.

Thalassery Municipal Chairperson Jamuna Rani claimed the business couple made a concerted effort to paint the civic body in a bad light.

In a WhatsApp message sent to their manager, the couple said that they were leaving their hometown since the municipality did not allow them to reopen the furniture unit even after the High Court stayed all the proceedings. 

The couple further said in the message that none should inquire about them in future. 

They left home by telling others in the house that they were going to the supermarket. But when they did not return after many hours, the Panur police registered a missing case and began investigation. 

They were traced to Coimbatore by the police by tracking their mobile phone signals. They were taken into custody by 6.30 am on Friday. By 10 am, they will be taken to Thalassery from Coimbatore. 

The couple belong to Thayattu House at Thazhe Champad locality of Thalassery.