Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai announced a Rs 10 lakh aid for the family of journalist Mukesh Chandrakar, who was murdered earlier this month in Bijapur district. Speaking to reporters at the Police Lines helipad, he also shared plans to construct a building for journalists, which will be named after the slain journalist.
Mukesh Chandrakar, a freelance journalist, went missing on January 1. His body was discovered two days later, on January 3, in a septic tank at a property owned by road contractor Suresh Chandrakar in Chattanpara Basti, Bijapur.
Suresh Chandrakar, the primary accused, was arrested from Hyderabad on January 5. His brothers, Ritesh and Dinesh, along with supervisor Mahendra Ramteke, were arrested earlier. Authorities said the murder stemmed from anger over Chandrakar’s report on alleged corruption in Suresh’s road construction project.
Chandrakar, 33, worked as a freelance journalist for NDTV and ran a popular YouTube channel called ‘Bastar Junction’ with 1.59 lakh subscribers. He played a key role in securing the release of CoBRA commando Rakeshwar Singh Manhas, who was captured by Maoists in 2021.
The investigation has revealed that Suresh Chandrakar, the journalist’s relative, had a personal vendetta against him for his investigative reporting. Deputy CM Vijay Sharma earlier claimed that Suresh Chandrakar was linked to the Congress party, but opposition members argue that he had recently joined the ruling BJP.
In response to the incident, the state’s Public Works Department (PWD) has suspended the accused contractor’s registration and canceled all his contracts.
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