Chhattisgarh: Three arrested over murder of journalist, property of key accused razed

“Ritesh was angry that despite being brothers, Mukesh was interfering in their work. This led to a heated argument during which he was killed,” said a senior police officer.

At a press conference on Saturday, Chhattisgarh Home Minister Vijay Sharma said Mukesh had on December 25 reported about poor construction work on a road project where Suresh was a contractor.

Sources said the 52.4 km project on the Nelson-Kodoli-Mirtur-Gangalur route was commissioned by the Public Works Department in 2010 at a cost of Rs 73 crore, but by 2021, the revised estimate had shot up to Rs 189 crore. Suresh was given the work order for a section of the road in 2015.

Sharma said, “The day Mukesh reported on the road construction, an inquiry was ordered. We will conduct a thorough probe.”

He said an 11-member Special Investigation Team led by an IPS officer has been constituted, and the case will be fast-tracked in court.

Sharma said Suresh is a Congress leader in charge of Bijapur. Responding to this, Congress’s communications head for Chattisgarh, Sushil Anand Shukla, said, “(Suresh) Chandrakar was a Congress party worker, but he joined the BJP in December.”

A senior official from the Chhattisgarh government told The Indian Express, “In the aftermath of the murder, Chief Minister Vishnudev Sai decided to send a strong message against criminals. It was on his directive that the administration demolished a road construction plant of the main accused.”

A senior official from district administration said, “The razed property belongs to the main accused Suresh Chandrakar, who has taken up several road construction projects in the past and currently has tenders for three road projects. The razed property was a construction yard made by encroaching on forest land. It was used to make materials used in road construction work. The property was spread across over 3 acres. There were several vehicles, sheds, hardware materials and a hot mix plant. The action was jointly taken by forest and revenue officials. We are checking if he has more illegal property. He is on the run, and we have frozen three of his bank accounts.”

Chandrakar’s body was found in a septic tank on Suresh’s residential premises.

The freelancer had worked with media houses such as NDTV and News 18 in the past and also had his own YouTube channel, Bastar Junction, with 1.59 lakh subscribers.

Anurag Dwary, Resident Editor, NDTV, said: “As a journalist, my colleague paid the ultimate price for exposing the truth. It’s a stark reminder of the risks journalists take daily in pursuit of accountability. We stand in solidarity with his family, and we demand a swift and impartial investigation to bring those responsible to justice.”

Mukesh played a crucial role in the release of CoBRA commando Rakeshwar Singh Manhas from Maoist captivity in April 2021 following the Takalguda Naxal ambush in Bijapur in which 22 security personnel were killed.

On Saturday, more than 50 journalists came together at the Raipur Press Club, from where they marched to Raj Bhawan and submitted a memorandum seeking safeguards for journalists.

The murder was also condemned by the Editors Guild of India, the Press Club of India and the Indian Women’s Press Corps.