New Delhi, January 4
A freelance journalist and You Tuber Mukesh Chandrakar of Chhattisgarh was found dead in a septic tank on a local contractor’s property in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh.
Mukesh Chandrakar had gone missing on January 1 and his body was found in the septic tank on a property owned by contractor Suresh Chandrakar at Chattanpara Basti in Bijapur town.
His elder brother Yukesh Chandrakar lodged a complaint with the police on January 2. The p[olice traced Mukesh's mobile number and reached the property owned by Suresh Chandrakar and found the body in a septic tank, which was freshly cast with concrete slab.
The police have arrested three persons in the case whose identities haven't been revealed.
The police suspect the murder is linked to a recent report of irregularities in road construction work in the district the victim had covered. Suresh Chandrakar is said to be involved in the work.
Mukesh worked as a freelance journalist for news channels, including NDTV, and ran a YouTube channel, ‘Bastar Junction’ which has some 1.59 lakh subscribers. He had played a crucial role in the release of a CoBRA commando, Rakeshwar Singh Manhas, from Maoists’ captivity in April 2021 following the Takalguda Naxal ambush in Bijapur, wherein 22 security personnel were martyred.
Journalists in Chhattisgarh held a symbolic road blockade at Hospital Chowk on National Highway 36 in the city in the morning, demanding that the contractor’s properties in Bastar division, including Bijapur, be attached and a case be registered against him. They also demanded a death sentence for the contractor and others involved in the murder, removal of security detail for him, and sealing of his bank accounts, among other demands.
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