Bareilly cafe case main accused, 4 others booked for extortion

Meerut: Police in Bareilly have registered an FIR against Rishabh Thakur, the main accused in the Bareilly cafe case, his associate Ashu Yadav and three unidentified persons for allegedly demanding Rs 40,000 from a spa centre operator in the district's Baradari area.SP City Manush Pareek told TOI: "A complaint was filed by an employee of the spa centre, following which the FIR was filed."Police said the action followed a circulation of a video purportedly recorded inside a spa operating on the second floor of a private hospital. After the clip was out, police visited the premises and shut the spa as a precaution.Officers said no objectionable items were found during the initial inspection. A separate probe into the spa's activities is underway.A day later, an audio clip surfaced on social media in which the caller, Ashu, allegedly sought Rs 40,000, claiming the video could be removed and the spa allowed to reopen.SHO Dhananjay Pandey said the video and audio were sent for forensic analysis. "We are examining who recorded and uploaded the content. Further action will be taken based on evidence," he said.Separately, Rishabh was externed from Bareilly for six months under the Goonda Act, citing his criminal history. Police escorted him to the Budaun border with instructions not to re-enter the city during the externment period. In Dec, Rishabh allegedly disrupted a nursing student's birthday party and assaulted two of her male friends over allegations of "love jihad".Following public backlash on social media, an FIR was registered against him in that incident and he surrendered in court.On Dec 27, Rishabh with a few aides had barged into the city café where the nursing student was celebrating her birthday with her friends, including two male students from the minority community. The accused and his men created ruckus, and allegedly assaulted the woman's friends. A purported video of that assault was widely shared online at that time.Rishabh went absconding. Police subsequently obtained a non-bailable warrant against him from the court and pasted a notice at his house. On Jan 16, Rishabh surrendered before the court following social media backlash, after which he was sent to judicial custody. He was granted bail on completion of the custody period, following which the externment action was taken.After the assault incident, the nursing student told TOI: "I feel deeply ashamed that my friends were harassed and assaulted for their faith. I'm afraid to even leave the house alone. It has ruined my image everywhere. Who gave these men the right to decide who I should be friends with?"She said she had organised the party only after taking permission from her parents, who never objected to her friendships. "They know who my friends are. If they have no objection, then who are these men to try to guide me?" she asked, adding that neither her upbringing nor her profession teaches her to judge or differentiate between people.Projecting himself as a cow vigilante, Rishabh was earlier associated with the Bajrang Dal. However, after the café incident, the right-wing organisation issued a statement claiming that "he had already been expelled".SSP Anurag Arya had told TOI: "Considering the man's criminal antecedents, action under the Goonda Act was taken against him. He was released from jail, and prohibited from entering the district."