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Kottayam: Leading Kerala High Court lawyer CP Udayabhanu was arrested by Thrissur police late on Wednesday in connection with the murder of a real estate agent Rajeev.

The lawyer, who had gone missing since the High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea on Tuesday, was arrested from his brother’s house at Tripunithura in Kochi.

The lawyer’s plea seeking more time to surrender before the court was also not considered.

Rajeev’s body was found in a disused house in Pariyaram in Chalakkudy in Thrissur on September 29.

Rajeev was part of the real estate dealing involving the accused who had given quotation to do away with Rajeev, the prosecution said.

The arrest procedure was hastened after a new bench constituted to hear the anticipatory bail application of the lawyer rejected his plea. The new bench, constituted after the earlier judge recused himself from hearing the case, also quashed the previous judge’s interim order not to arrest the lawyer till a new bench was constituted.

Following this, the victim Rajeev’s mother approached the Supreme Court. It was after this that the bench was constituted.