ALAPPUZHA: More details have emerged in the sexual assault case involving famous YouTube influencer Muhammed Hafiz aka Thrikannan. Hafiz, native of ‘Hafiz Manzil’ in Thiruvambady, Eravukadu ward of Alappuzha Municipality, was arrested on Tuesday.

Thrikannan has more than 3.5 lakh followers on Instagram. Ironically, his reels addressing injustices in society made him famous in the social media milieu. In real life, he rarely practiced what he preached. Rumours say that Thrikannan often lures girls on the pretext of taking reels and coerces them into intercourse. A harassment complaint was filed against him before, but the case was dropped after reaching a mutual agreement.

Hafiz befriended the 23-year-old law student through Instagram. In December 2024, he invited the young woman to his house in Eravukadu under the pretext of filming a reel. The woman refused the proposal, but Hafiz had no plan to give up. He proposed to the woman and promised marriage. On January 1 2025, he brought the woman to his house.

It was later that the woman got to know about Hafiz’s promiscuities with several others. They both engaged in a war of words after the woman confronted him. She later filed a complaint with the Alappuzha South police.

The arrest was made by a team comprising CI K. Sreejith, SI C. S. Ashokan, SCPOs Vipindas and Rakhi, and CPOs Anu Anand and Shyam. Hafiz was produced in court and remanded.