Argus News - Puri Police Bust Facebook Threat Plot, Arrest Accused

Puri, Jan 22: Puri Police have uncovered a shocking case involving threatening posts on Facebook, leading to the arrest of Prateek Mishra from Niladri Vihar under Baselisahi police station.

The accused allegedly created a fake account in the name of a woman, Julie Rani Panda, with whom he had a personal dispute.

According to police, Prateek was in love with Julie, but after she rejected him, tensions escalated.

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On January 11, he used her SIM card to open a fake account and began posting defamatory and threatening messages. The posts included alarming claims such as an imminent bomb attack at the Jagannath Temple, threats to shoot Rajya Sabha MP Subhashish Khuntia, and plans to open fire at Puri Grand Centre.

The matter came to light when Puri Police’s social media cell detected the posts and immediately treated the incident as serious. With assistance from the cyber police, detailed information about the fake Facebook ID was obtained. Investigations revealed that Prateek Mishra acted alone in creating the account and spreading the threats.

Police records show that Prateek already has over 10 criminal cases registered against him in Puri and Kendrapara districts.

Following the latest incident, a case has been registered at Singhadwar police station under section 18/26. During interrogation, Pratik confessed that his actions were motivated purely by revenge against his former partner.

Superintendent of Police confirmed that the accused admitted to fabricating the threats solely to defame Julie Rani Panda. The arrest highlights the growing misuse of social media platforms for personal vendettas and the importance of cyber monitoring in preventing potential panic and disruption.