Chhattisgarh : The Chhattisgarh Police on Monday arrested contractor Suresh Chandrakar, the main accused in the murder of 33-year-old journalist Mukesh Chandrakar, from Hyderabad. “Interrogation of the accused [Suresh Chandrakar] is going on,” said police in a statement.
The body of Mukesh Chandrakar, who went missing on January 1, was discovered in a freshly sealed septic tank at Suresh Chandrakar’s premises in Chattan Para on January 3 with injuries on his head, back, stomach, and chest, inflicted by hard and blunt objects, police said.
Mukesh Chandrakar’s brother, Yukesh, reported his disappearance to police on January 2, nearly 24 hours after he was last seen.
In Frame: Journalist Mukesh Chandrakar (file photo)
Deputy chief minister Vijay Sharma said a news report highlighting alleged corruption in road construction work in Bijapur may have led to the murder. A probe was initiated following the report aired on December 25.
On Saturday, three other accused including Suresh Chandrakar’s brother, Ritesh Chandrakar, Mahendra Ramteke, and Dinesh Chandrakar, were arrested. The same day police formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under an additional superintendent for further investigation.
Citing the murder investigation, police said that on January 1, Mukesh Chandrakar and Ritesh Chandrakar got into a furious dispute over supposed interference in Suresh Chandrakar’s job.
According to deputy CM Sharma, the main accused Suresh Chandrakar served as a Congress leader and official. Congress leader Sushil Anand Shukla rejected the claim saying Suresh Chandrakar had joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
In addition to managing the YouTube channel “Bastar Junction,” which had over 159,000 followers, Mukesh Chandrakar worked for NDTV and other news outlets. In April 2021, he helped secure the release of Rakeshwar Singh Manhas, a commando, from Maoist captivity.
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