Chhattisgarh Journalist Murder: Police Names Contractor In Chargesheet, Reveals Accused Called Victim Before Killing Him

Chhattisgarh Journalist Murder:  Bijapur police in Chhattisgarh filed a 1,200-page-plus chargesheet in court on Tuesday against four people accused of murdering journalist Mukesh Chandrakar. Police said Mukesh was killed for exposing bad road building work by the principal culprit, contractor Suresh Chandrakar, who was his cousin.

The cold-blooded murder occurred on the night of January 1, hours after he had gone missing. On January 3, a day after his brother filed a missing person report, Mukesh's body was discovered in a septic tank on Suresh's farm in Chhatanpara.

Police claim that Mahendra Ramteke, an employee, and Suresh's brother Ritesh committed the murder. According to the police, Mukesh was struck by an iron rod many times, and his body was dumped in the tank before being buried with concrete.

The police discovered that his phone was last seen at Suresh's house on January 2 while investigating the missing person case. Mukesh's body was found during inspections of the property, which has 14 rooms and a badminton court. A recently laid concrete cover over the tank caused suspicions.

Police then began looking for Ritesh, who had asked Mukesh to meet him that night. During the inquiry, authorities discovered that the accused were unhappy with Mukesh for working on a NDTV report on bad road building in Bijapur, where Suresh was the major contractor.

The news article prompted an investigation into not just this specific road construction project, but also two additional projects overseen by Suresh. The anticipated cost of the three road developments was roughly Rs 170 crore.

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Aside from Suresh, Ritesh, and Mahendra, the chargesheet includes Dinesh, the contractor's brother. The case has 72 witnesses, and the evidence consists of phone data record analysis and CCTV footage.

Additional Superintendent of Police Mayank Gurjar, who headed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to investigate the murder case, said, “During the investigation, digital and physical evidence were closely monitored and properly included in the chargesheet. All efforts are being taken to ensure all four accused get stringent punishment from the court.”

Asked about the motive, a senior official said, “Suresh was angry with Mukesh for exposing the poor road construction work. The inquiry against him also led to GST raids on his premises, and he was fined around Rs 20 lakh.” “Suresh called Mukesh multiple times before the murder. He was worried… uska samrajya toot jayega (that his empire would crumble). Also, a few days before the murder, Suresh met him and threatened him,” the official said.

Mukesh was a well-known journalist in Bastar who had gained recognition for his fieldwork from the central Naxal region and for advocating for tribal peoples' rights.