Theft, attempt to murder: Rishabh Thakur, key accused in Bareilly cafe case, booked in 3 cases

Rishabh Thakur (24), a key accused in the disruption of a birthday celebration allegedly by vigilantes at a cafe in Bareilly, has three criminal cases registered against him at Subhash Nagar police station, police records show.

Jitendra Singh, Station House Officer (SHO) of Subhash Nagar police station, said Rishabh was booked in 2022 on charges of theft and assault and in 2024 in an attempt to murder case. Police have also invoked provisions of the Goonda Act against him.

SHO Singh said Rishabh was arrested in the attempt to murder case in July this year on court directions and sent to jail, before being released on bail in August. He added that Rishabh is also an accused in an extortion case, and that police have filed chargesheets in all three cases.

The SHO said the police are planning to open a history sheet against Rishabh.

A resident of Bareilly, Rishabh lives in a rented house, and his father does small, informal jobs for a living. He is currently unemployed, said police.

On Saturday, nearly two dozen vigilantes barged into the cafe, where a nursing student was celebrating her birthday, and allegedly assaulted the group. The incident, videos of which went viral on social media, was purportedly triggered by the presence of two youths from the minority community at the party.

Police have so far arrested five people — Ashish alias Paras Johri, Mridul alias Manish Dubey, Akash, Deepak, and Prince Singh — who were identified during the probe into the incident. Another key accused, Deepak Pathak, is also absconding.

Police said the six are first-time offenders.

Police said the five arrested accused are residents of Izzatnagar, and their houses are located within a 1-km radius.

According to police, Ashish (26) is working with a private firm while pursuing his graduation, and is considered a close associate of Deepak Pathak.

Police said Mridul (19) is employed with a food delivery company, while Akash (21) has discontinued his studies and is engaged in a private job.

Another accused, also named Deepak (19), is a fruit vendor who left school after completing primary education. Prince, also 19, is involved in the dairy business, police said.

Meanwhile, Rishabh, in a purported video circulating on social media, claimed the incident was being wrongly portrayed as gundagardi carried out in the name of “love jihad”.

He also claimed “six of his brothers and associates” have been sent to jail and that his father has been detained at the police station. He appealed to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for a fair inquiry.

The FIR in the Bareilly case was lodged by the Premnagar police station, on the cafe owner’s complaint, under BNS sections 333 (house trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), 351 (criminal intimidation), 324 (mischief), 191 (rioting) and others.