Two days after former DYFI activist Arjun Ayanki was arrested, a Thalassery court on Tuesday allowed the Kannur police to take him into custody for three days.

After being arrested on Sunday, Ayanki was subsequently remanded to judicial custody and sent to jail. Seeking his custody for further investigation and questioning, the police approached the court, seeking five days of police custody. However, the court granted custody for only three days.

Ayanki was arrested following an intense manhunt launched by the Kerala Police after he posted provocative statements on social media challenging Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala.

The statements were posted while Ayanki was on the run after the Kerala High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea in a case registered over alleged threats against the Kothamangalam Station House Officer.

Police reportedly received a tip-off from an autorickshaw driver who had dropped Ayanki at his lawyer’s residence. Suspecting that the passenger was Ayanki, the driver alerted the police. Officers subsequently checked CCTV footage and confirmed his identity before moving to the flat where he was staying.

The Kannur Cyber Police had registered a case based on Ayanki’s social media posts challenging the Home Minister.