BHOPAL: Police have arrested the missing link in a series of extortion threat cases targeting wealthy businessmen in Madhya Pradesh in the name of Harry Boxer, the key overseas operative of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, taking the total number of arrests across multiple cases in the state to 28.
The latest arrest was made by the Rajasthan Police in Bikaner district. Twenty one year old Durgesh Soni, who was wanted by the Rajasthan Police in connection with a 2023 murder, attempt to murder and Arms Act case, was arrested from his native district on Tuesday.
Soni is also wanted in connection with a Rs 10 crore extortion threat allegedly issued by the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to a businessman in Madhya Pradesh’s Ashoknagar district in March 2026.
According to DIG Rahul Lodha, who heads the SIT formed by the DGP to probe all cases pertaining to extortion threats to businessmen across Madhya Pradesh in the name of Harry Boxer and the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, “A reward of Rs 20,000 was placed on Soni’s arrest. Soni was the missing link in the case pertaining to the extortion threat to the Ashoknagar based businessman.”
Soni was allegedly a key part of the four member group that targeted the businessman in Ashoknagar at the behest of Hari Chand Jaat alias Harry Boxer. While three of them, including Pradip Shukla, JP Dara and Manish Jangid, have already been arrested, Soni was the lone operative on the run.
Among the four arrested accused in the case, Manish Jangid, JP Dara and Durgesh Soni belong to Rajasthan, which is also Harry Boxer’s home state, while Pradip Shukla hails from Agra district in Uttar Pradesh.
“Once the Rajasthan Police complete their questioning in their case, we’ll seek Soni’s remand and bring him to MP for detailed questioning in our case,” DIG and SIT chief Rahul Lodha told TNIE.
While eight arrests have so far been made by the SIT in connection with extortion threats issued in Harry Boxer’s name to businessmen in Ashoknagar and Bhopal, 20 men have been arrested in another case involving a similar extortion threat to a cotton businessman in Khargone district in southwestern Madhya Pradesh, taking the total number of arrests across all such cases in the state to 28.