Thushar Vellapally, who contested against Rahul Gandhi at the national election earlier this year from Kerala's Wayanad, was arrested near Dubai on Tuesday in an alleged cheating case. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written to Foreign Minister Dr S Jaishankar seeking his intervention as "I express concern about his well-being and health while in custody. All possible help within the limits of law needs to be made available to him." 

Vellapally ran a business about 10 years ago in Dubai, sources said. The business came into losses and the subcontractors requested loss compensation. A check provided previously as compensation of 8 million Dhirams lately bounced when Thushar Vellapally was in Dubai, resulting in his arrest, Vellapally was arrested in Ajman near Dubai.

Vellapally is the chief of Kerala unit of Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), a political party and an ally of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).