The Chevayur police have arrested one more person in connection with the alleged abduction and extortion of a 23-year-old youth, who was reportedly held captive, assaulted and threatened with the circulation of private images unless his family paid ₹8 lakh.

The accused has been identified as K. Akhil, 33, alias Kuttan, hailing from Vellimadukunnu. He was taken into custody by a special police team led by the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Kozhikode Medical College sub-division. He was remanded in judicial custody on Saturday (August 30, 2026).

According to the police, the youth, a native of Malaparamba, was abducted from his friend’s flat in Bengaluru last month and brought to a rented house at Padinjattumuri within the Chevayur police station limits. He was allegedly confined there and assaulted, while the accused reportedly took his nude photographs and sent them to his parents before demanding ₹8 lakh as ransom.

The latest arrest follows the arrests of Athul alias Kuttan, of Parambil Bazaar, and Jishnu Jayan, a native of Mattannur in Kannur district, in connection with the case. The police said Akhil had also been involved in an earlier attempt-to-murder case.

The police have intensified the investigation to trace the remaining accused. A woman and four other persons are also suspected to have been involved in the incident, according to police sources.