Thrissur: The Erumapetty police arrested Ranjith (45), who had been absconding for nearly two years in a case related to cheating several people of money by promising them jobs in the Railways. He was spotted by a police officer while casually walking past the ACP office in Veliyannur on Monday.

Traffic police CPO Shibu George, who was previously part of the investigating team probing the case against Ranjith, recognised him as he walked past the office. The officer questioned him and verified his identification details, following which he was taken into custody.

According to the Erumapetty police, Ranjith is the second accused in a case registered in 2024 against three people for allegedly defrauding several individuals of around ₹1 crore by promising them jobs in the Railways.

"Ranjith had been booked at multiple police stations, including Kunnamkulam, Aaloor, Koratty in Thrissur and Puthencruz in Ernakulam district, under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including cheating," a police officer said.

The accused had approached the Kerala High Court seeking anticipatory bail, but his plea was rejected. He subsequently went absconding, the officer added.

The investigation team had travelled to Bengaluru, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh in search of him but failed to trace him. Believing that the investigation had gone cold, Ranjith eventually returned to Kerala.

However, he was recognised by CPO Shibu George while walking past the ACP office in Thrissur. His arrest was subsequently recorded at the Erumapetty police station and he was remanded to judicial custody, police said.