Bhubaneswar: A 31-year-old man, who was granted bail earlier this month for allegedly threatening to bomb the Jagannath Temple, was on Tuesday arrested again for issuing fresh threats to trigger blasts during the Rath Yatra and blow up the Shankaracharya’s mutt in Puri.Police identified the accused as Pratik Mishra, describing him as a habitual offender with a history of 16 criminal cases, mostly involving cheating and cyber extortion.Mishra was first arrested on Jan 25 for posting threats on social media to bomb the Puri temple. Investigators said he had created a fake profile using a woman’s identity to frame her. After being released on bail on April 10, Mishra allegedly created WhatsApp groups under the same woman’s name, added prominent persons and threatened them with bomb attacks unless they paid him extortion money running into lakhs.Four cases were registered against him — at Town police station (on April 13), Baselisahi (on April 17), Satyabadi (on April 18) and Sea Beach police station (on April 19) – for issuing threats via these groups. “In one message, he demanded Rs 20 lakh from the 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 Satyabadi area, demanding money,” Puri SP Prateek Singh said.Police suspect Mishra may be mentally unstable, noting that he continued committing crimes despite repeated arrests and legal consequences. His criminal record spans over a decade across Puri and Kendrapada districts.“He is a habitual offender charged with attempt to murder, theft, molestation, sexual assault, cheating, forgery, extortion and cyber crimes,” the SP added.Police sources added that Mishra was arrested on April 13 in Kendrapada’s Patkura area for extortion and abetment to suicide. The case involved a man who died by hanging after being falsely implicated in a rape case allegedly fabricated by Mishra and two associates, who demanded Rs 1 lakh to withdraw the complaint.Investigators also revealed that in Sept 2019, Mishra defamed two teachers in Puri’s Balanga area by morphing their photographs with a former minister.
