Three persons have been arrested in connection with the murder of a 33-year-old journalist whose body was discovered in a septic tank on a local contractor’s premises in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, police said on Saturday.
Mukesh Chandrakar, a journalist, went missing on January 1, and his body was recovered on Friday from the septic tank on a property owned by contractor Suresh Chandrakar at Chattanpara Basti in Bijapur town.
Police reported, “Three persons have been detained in connection with the murder and are being interrogated.” The police did not reveal their names and said the details would be disclosed later in the day.
Mukesh worked as a freelance journalist for news channels, including NDTV, and operated a YouTube channel, ‘Bastar Junction.’ He had played a significant role in the rescue of a CoBRA commando, Rakeshwar Singh Manhas, from Maoists following the Takalguda Naxal trap in Bijapur, where 22 security personnel were killed.
He went missing on Wednesday evening, and his elder brother, Yukesh Chandrakar, filed a complaint with the police the next day. Tracking Mukesh’s mobile number, police located the property owned by Suresh Chandrakar and discovered the body in a septic tank, which was recently covered with a concrete slab.
Police suspected the murder is related to a recent report of a scam in road construction work in the district the victim had reported. Suresh Chandrakar is suspected to be involved in the work.
Journalists demonstrated and blocked the road at Hospital Chowk on National Highway 36 in the city, demanding that the contractor’s properties in the Bastar division, including Bijapur, be seized and a case be registered against him.
They also demanded a death penalty for the contractor and others involved in the murder, removal of security for him, and freezing of his bank accounts, among other demands. The protesting journalists also demanded the suspension or transfer of the Bijapur superintendent of police.
Protesting journalists declared an indefinite road blockade from Sunday if their demands are not fulfilled. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Friday assured that the culprits would be arrested at the earliest.
Meanwhile, members of the Raipur Press Club on Friday assembled at Jaistambh Chowk and demanded action against the killers and sought that the state government form a special investigation team to investigate the murder.
