Puri: Police have rearrested a 31-year-old man just days after his release on bail for allegedly issuing fresh threats to blast Shankaracharya’s Govardhan Mutt and the upcoming Rath Yatra in Odisha’s Puri.
The accused, identified as Pratik Mishra from Baselisahi in Puri, has been charged with cyber extortion and threats.
Mishra was previously arrested on January 25, 2026, after posting threats on social media to bomb Shree Jagannath Temple. He had created a fake profile using the identity of a woman who had rejected his advances to frame her in the case. He was granted bail on April 10.
According to Puri SP Prateek Singh, shortly after his release, he allegedly created WhatsApp groups under the same fabricated female identity. He added prominent individuals and issued extortion demands running into lakhs of rupees, threatening bomb attacks if not paid. Four cases were subsequently registered at different police stations: Town (April 13), Baselisahi (April 17), Satyabadi (April 18), and Sea Beach (April 19). “In one message, he demanded Rs 20 lakh from Shankaracharya’s Govardhan Mutt, threatening to bomb the institution if his demand was not met. In another, he warned of blasts during the forthcoming Rath Yatra and at Balunkeswar temple in the Satyabadi area, demanding money,” SP Singh was quoted as saying.
Police sources suspect Mishra may be mentally unstable, as he has continued his criminal activities despite repeated arrests and legal proceedings. He has previously been charged with attempt to murder, theft, molestation, sexual assault, cheating, forgery, extortion, and various cybercrimes across Puri and Kendrapada districts.
He was again arrested on April 13 in Kendrapada’s Patkura area for extortion and abetment to suicide. This incident involved a man who died by suicide after being falsely implicated in a fabricated rape case allegedly orchestrated by Mishra and associates, who then demanded Rs 1 lakh to withdraw the complaint.
In 2019, he allegedly defamed two school teachers in Puri’s Balanga area by morphing their photographs with those of a former minister.
The latest arrest comes as Puri prepares for the grand Rath Yatra, raising heightened security concerns at sensitive religious sites. Police stated that further investigation is underway to unravel the full extent of Mishra’s digital activities and associates.
