Three arrested for alleged extortion and assault during Deoghar Bhado Mela

Police have arrested three men in connection with alleged assault, snatching and extortion from shopkeepers and traders during the temporary Bhado Mela near the Baba Temple in Deoghar.

Police said the accused allegedly threatened traders with illegal firearms and demanded extortion. A country-made pistol, two live cartridges, a CCTV camera and a DVR were recovered during the investigation, Superintendent of Police Praveen Pushkar said.

Four cases were registered at Deoghar Town Police Station in connection with the incidents — Case No. 336/2026 dated August 28, Case No. 360/2026 dated September 13, and Case Nos. 363/2026 and 364/2026 dated September 15. Gaurav Jha, Nihal Mishra, Rahul Sharma and others were named as accused.

Police also received information that CCTV equipment had allegedly been removed from the locations where the incidents took place.

Following the complaints, three police teams were formed under the supervision of Sadar SDPO Kuldeep Kumar. On September 18, police received information that wanted accused Gaurav Jha and Nihal Mishra were hiding in government quarters under Sakchi Police Station in Jamshedpur.

A team, with assistance from Sakchi Police, raided the location and arrested the two accused. Based on information allegedly provided by them, police recovered a country-made pistol and two live cartridges from bushes near the Shivganga cremation ground.

A separate police team arrested Vikram Kumar Chaurasia from his residence. Police said a CCTV camera and DVR were subsequently recovered from his second house in Chhattisi based on information provided by him.

The arrested accused have been identified as Gaurav Jha, 26, son of Subhakant Jha and a resident of Laxmicharan Dwari Lane; Nihal Mishra, 26, son of late Munna Mishra and a resident of Chakravarti Lane; and Vikram Kumar Chaurasia, 25, son of Umesh Modi and a resident of Hariharbari near Shayan Shala. All three are residents of areas under Deoghar Town Police Station.

According to police, Gaurav Jha and Nihal Mishra have several previous criminal cases against them. Police also said both have been sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with Kunda Police Station Case No. 110/2023, a murder case. Nihal Mishra also faces cases under the Arms Act.

The police operation involved Sadar SDPO Kuldeep Kumar, Town Police Station Inspector-cum-SHO Ravi Thakur, Ghanshyam Ganda, Suraj Kumar, Shankar Rajak, Mukesh Tiwari, Sumant Prasad, Mithilesh Kumar, Arvind Kumar, Raju Rajwar and Santosh Kumar, along with personnel from the Town Police Station Reserve Guard.

Further investigation and legal proceedings are underway.