Lavish wedding, 17-room bungalow — ‘mastermind’ in journalist Mukesh Chandrakar’s murder rose through ranks, helped by govt contracts

The son of a serving constable in the Maoist-affected Basaguda, Suresh, 42, was arrested earlier last week for allegedly having Mukesh killed over a news report on a road project that he had undertaken.

According to officials, Suresh was undertaking three major road projects with an estimated cost of over Rs 170 crore. The biggest was work on a section of the Nelsnar-Kodoli-Mirtur-Gangalur road — the project that allegedly cost Mukesh his life. All three contracts now stand cancelled.

The murder allegedly took place on January 1 at a property that Suresh had allegedly built illegally on half an acre of land. Located in Bijapur’s Chhattanpara, this property, police sources say, has 17 rooms and a badminton court, and was being used by Suresh’s employees.

Apart from Suresh, police have arrested his brothers Ritesh and Dinesh, and an employee, Mahendra Ramteke, for the murder. As per the sources, Suresh was hired as an SPO in the Salwa Judum, a government-sponsored militia established to counter Maoists in Chhattisgarh, with the help of his father, a serving constable in Bijapur. Around the same time, Suresh, who was adept at cooking, also worked at the official residence of a senior police officer.

“He has always been close to some local policemen,” a close friend said.

When the Salwa Judum was disbanded following a Supreme Court ruling in 2011, Suresh, a school dropout, began taking up small-scale building contracts. But it wasn’t until November 2015 that he got his major break. This came in the form of a government contract for a 32.4 km section of the Nelesnar-Gangalur road. For Suresh, the project was a massive breakthrough given its cost — Rs 54 crore.

“The road was first sanctioned in 2010 but no Class A contractor — those with no limit on contract value — was coming here due to the Maoist threat. This enabled Suresh and four others, who were Class B (contractors who could take up projects only up to Rs 10 crore), to apply,” said a source.

According to sources from the state’s Public Works Department, the project was meant to be completed by July 2016 but its deadline kept getting extended, causing costs to inflate. By July 2021, its revised cost had shot up to Rs 141 crore.

“He has completed 24.9 km of the 32.4 km given to him,” a PWD official said. “Apart from this road, Suresh also had two more road contracts in Bijapur for which he has already been paid over Rs 2 crore.”

Having joined the Congress in the early 2010s, he was also made an “election observer” in Maharashtra Assembly polls last year. On its part, the Congress has admitted he was a worker, but also claimed that he had “joined the BJP in December”. The Congress has not provided any proof to back this claim.

By late last year, Suresh, now a Class A contractor, had secured two more government contracts in Bijapur — the construction of an 11.20 km road between Jaigur and Tumnar at an estimated cost of Rs 13 crore, and the widening of the 12.60 km Kutru-Farsegad road at an estimated cost of Rs 19.50 crore.

The deadline for the first one, secured in December 2022, was January 2024, with only a fourth finished so far, while the second one, whose deadline was September 2025, was also only partially done. Advance payment was made in part for both projects.

According to police sources, it was Mukesh’s news report on the delay in the Nelsnar-Kodoli-Mirtur-Gangalur road that allegedly upset Suresh. The report, aired on NDTV on December 25, alleged corruption in the road project and prompted a government inquiry.

On January 3, days after the report, Mukesh’s body was found in a septic tank on Suresh’s Chhattanpara property.  According to the police, it was Ritesh and Mahendra who allegedly killed him, while Suresh and his brother Dinesh allegedly helped dispose of the body and evidence.

Six of Suresh’s bank accounts have now been frozen, while the police have seized four of his vehicles — including a cement mixer allegedly used in the crime to concretise the open tank.

On January 4, Bijapur district authorities took a bulldozer to Suresh’s construction plant, claiming it had been illegally built on forest land.

Meanwhile, the PWD department has cancelled all three of his road projects and suspended his contractor licence after his arrest, officials said. The murder investigation has also prompted Goods and Services Tax raids at Suresh’s residence.