BHOPAL: Two men from Uttar Pradesh’s Banda district, Nirmal Tiwari and Anand Mishra, along with Rajasthan native Jai Prakash alias ‘Dara’ have been arrested in connection with a Rs 10 crore extortion threat to a Bhopal-based real estate businessman, with investigators uncovering a wider interstate network linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
The arrests were made by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by DGP Kailash Makwana and functioning under STF chief D Srinivas Verma. The extortion call, made in March 2026, invoked the name of the gang’s overseas operative Harry Boxer alias Hari Chand Jaat.
According to the probe, Anand Mishra was the main conspirator who financed and coordinated the plan, while Nirmal Tiwari conducted reconnaissance of the businessman’s residence in Bhopal’s Kolar area and recorded video footage used to threaten the victim. Mishra was arrested while attempting to flee to Nepal, police said.
Jai Prakash, a resident of Bikaner, allegedly provided financial and logistical support to the gang. He has been associated with the Bishnoi gang since his teenage years and is named in 18 criminal cases, including the January 2023 firing at Jaipur’s Jawahar Circle-based G-Club after an extortion demand was refused. As a minor, he had earlier escaped from a children’s correctional home in Jaipur and was rearrested near the India-Nepal border in 2024 in another case linked to the gang.
Investigators said this is the first instance where a Uttar Pradesh link has surfaced in the series of extortion threats issued in the name of Harry Boxer across Madhya Pradesh. At least eight such cases targeting businessmen were reported between February and March 2026 in districts including Bhopal, Indore, Khargone and Ashoknagar.
So far, 27 arrests have been made in connection with these cases. Other accused include Rajpal Singh Chandrawat and Yogesh Bhati from Ujjain, Pradip Shukla and Pawan Sharma from Madhya Pradesh, and Manish Jangid and Dinesh Suthar from Rajasthan.
The case has drawn attention to Banda district in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, once known for the activities of dreaded inter-state dacoits Shiv Kumar Patel and Ambika Patel, now resurfacing in news over its alleged link to organised extortion operations.
Police said the gang used intimidation tactics such as video surveillance and impersonation of known operatives to pressure businessmen into paying large sums. Further investigation is underway to trace additional links and prevent similar threats.