The main accused in the murder of journalist Mukesh Chandrakar, whose body was found in a septic tank in Chattisgarh last week, has been arrested from Hyderabad on Sunday night. Suresh Chandrakar, a distant relative and a contractor, is believed to be the alleged mastermind behind the murder. He was on the run since the incident came to light.

According to the police, Suresh was hiding at his driver’s residence in Hyderabad. To track him, the police reviewed footage from 200 CCTVs and traced nearly 300 mobile numbers.

The police are currently interrogating Chandrakar, officials said.

Earlier, four bank accounts linked to Suresh were frozen and an illegally constructed yard owned by him was demolished.

Chandrakar’s wife has also been taken into custody in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district and is being interrogated, officials added.

Chandrakar’s body was found in a septic tank in a shed owned by a contractor in Chattisgarh’s Bastar division last week. The independent journalist, who was also a contributing reporter for NDTV, was last seen leaving his home in Bijapur’s Pujari Para on New Year’s Day. When he did not return, the journalist’s brother, Yukesh, filed a missing complaint the next day.

After beginning an investigation, police found the 32-year-old’s body in Chhatan Para Basti, not very far from his home.

According to a post-mortem report, Chandrakar was attacked with a hard object and suffered severe injuries to his head, chest, back, and stomach. His body was identified through a tattoo on his hand.

Three people, including two of Chandrakar’s relatives, have also been arrested in the case. While his cousin, Ritesh Chandrakar, was arrested from Raipur airport on Saturday, Mahendra Ramteke, a supervisor, and Dinesh Chandrakar, another relative of the victim, were taken into custody from Bijapur.

How was Mukesh Chandrakar murdered?

Preliminary investigation revealed that the journalist’s cousin Ritesh and the supervisor Mahendra attacked Chandrakar with an iron rod, killing him on the spot, after an argument broke out between them during dinner. The duo then hid the body in a septic tank and sealed it with cement to conceal the crime, police said. They also disposed of Chandrakar’s phone and the iron rod with which they killed him.

While Dinesh allegedly supervised the cementing of the tank, Suresh was believed to the mastermind behind the plan.

Condolences pour in

Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma called Chandrakar’s murder “terrible, painful, and utterly wrong”. He also assured strong action against the accused.

The Press Association and the Editors Guild of India condemned the incident and urged the Chhattisgarh government to take steps to protect journalists, particularly those involved in field reporting and investigative journalism.

“The young journalist’s death is a matter of grave concern as it raises suspicion of foul play. The Editors Guild calls on the government of Chhattisgarh to spare no efforts in investigating the case speedily and bringing the guilty to book. The safety of journalists – especially those working in smaller towns and rural areas – is of paramount importance, and the Editors Guild demands that authorities across the country must do their best to ensure that no harm or hindrance is caused to any of them in discharging their professional duties,” the Guild said in a statement.

The Press Association, a leading body of journalists, said the tragic incident highlighted the urgent need for stronger safeguards to ensure journalists can perform their vital role without fear of retribution.

The Press Council of India (PCI) on Saturday (January 4, 2025) expressed concern over the suspected murder of a journalist in Chhattisgarh and sought a report from the State government.

PCI Chairperson Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai took suo motu cognisance of the death of Mukesh Chandrakar in Bastar and called for a report on facts of the case from the state government, a PCI statement said.

The Press Association and the Editors Guild of India also condemned the killing of the television journalist, and demanded the State government conduct a thorough investigation.

Three persons have been detained in connection with the alleged killing of the 33-year-old. According to the police, the four accused identified so far include brothers Ritesh Chandrakar, Dinesh Chandrakar and Suresh Chandrakar who are construction contractors and Mahendra Ramteke, who is their employee. Suresh Chandrakar is absconding while the other three have been arrested.

Mr. Chandrakar, a freelance journalist who had highlighted alleged irregularities in road construction, went missing on January 1, and his body was found on Friday in a septic tank on a property owned by Suresh Chandrakar at Chattanpara Basti in Bijapur town, as per police.

SIT set up

Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma announced the setting up of a Special Investigation Team to probe the case.

State Deputy CM Arun Sao, who also holds PWD portfolio, said investigation will be carried out into every project executed by Suresh Chandrakar.

Mukesh Chandrakar worked as a freelance journalist for news channel NDTV, and also ran a YouTube channel, ‘Bastar Junction’, which has 1.59 lakh subscribers.

He 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 that killed 22 security personnel.

Addressing a press conference, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P said Ritesh Chandrakar was arrested from Raipur airport, while Dinesh Chandrakar and Ramteke were held from Bijapur.

“Our probe has revealed Ritesh Chandrakar is a kin of Mukesh Chandrakar and the two used to interact often. On January 1, at 8 p.m., the two spoke on phone and then both went to the compound of Suresh Chandrakar in Chattanpara for dinner. An argument broke out after Ritesh accused the deceased of hindering their construction work,” the IG said.

“Ritesh and Ramteke killed Mukesh with an iron rod, placed the body in the septic tank and shut it. Ritesh then called his elder brother Dinesh, who was in Jagdalpur, and Suresh Chandrakar as well as other kin. Ritesh, Ramteke and Dinesh met at Bodli [a village between Bijapur and Jagdalpur] and conspired to destroy evidence,” the official said.

They went to different places to dispose of the weapon used in the crime and Mukesh Chandrakar’s mobile phone, he said.

“Ritesh told his elder brother Dinesh to cast fresh slab over the septic tank and left for Raipur in the vehicle of his elder brother Suresh Chandrakar. Thereafter, Ritesh left for New Delhi from Raipur on January 2,” he said.

After Mukesh Chandrakar went missing at around 8:30 p.m. on January 1, his elder brother Yukesh Chandrakar lodged a complaint with the police the next day.

Kin and media colleagues of Mukesh Chandrakar were spoken to about the disappearance, after which mobile phone tower locations of the suspects were retrieved, the IG said.

“Based on the deceased’s last known location, the premises of contractor Suresh Chandrakar in Chattanpara were inspected on January 2 but nothing was found. On January 3, the newly floored septic tank near the badminton court at Suresh Chandrakar’s premises was examined. We found Mukesh’s body in it,” he said.

“He had injuries on the forehead, back, stomach and chest caused by a hard and blunt object. A case was registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for murder, disappearance of evidence and other offences. Four teams are trying to nab Suresh Chandrakar,” he said.

Meanwhile, state Congress communication wing chief Sushil Anand Shukla claimed Suresh Chandrakar was inducted into the BJP last year and that there were photos of him with ruling party leaders.

“Suresh Chandrakar visited CM House 10 days ago. CCTV footage of CM House and visitors’ list for the past 15 days must be made public. Why is corruption of Suresh Chandrakar exposed by Mukesh not being discussed? Is it possible to make 90% advance payment in a road contract of ₹120 crore without protection of ministers and people in power,” Mr. Shukla asked.

He sought resignation of Deputy CMs Sharma and Sao apart from ₹1 crore as compensation to Mukesh’s kin.

Earlier in the day, journalists protested at Raipur Press Club.

New Delhi:

The Press Association and the Editors Guild of India on Saturday condemned the killing of a television journalist in Chhattisgarh and demanded that the state government conduct a thorough investigation into the case.

Mukesh Chandrakar, a freelance journalist in Chhattisgarh who had highlighted alleged irregularities in road construction, was found dead in a septic tank on a local contractor’s property in Bijapur city on Friday.

Three persons have been detained in connection with the murder of the 33-year-old journalist.

“The young journalist’s death is a matter of grave concern as it raises suspicion of foul play. The Editors Guild calls on the government of Chhattisgarh to spare no effort in investigating the case swiftly and bringing the guilty to book,” the Guild said in a statement.

The two media bodies also urged the Chhattisgarh government to take steps to protect journalists, particularly those involved in field reporting and investigative journalism.

The Press Association, a leading body of journalists, said the tragic incident highlighted the urgent need for stronger safeguards to ensure journalists can perform their vital role without fear of retribution.

In a separate statement, the Press Club of India and the Indian Women Press Corps condemned the killing of the journalist and called for time-bound action against the perpetrators.

They also requested that the Press Council of India take cognizance of the matter and ask the state government to take appropriate action.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)