Freelance journalist found murdered in Bijapur

Mukesh Chandrakar, a 33-year-old journalist, was found dead in a septic tank in Bijapur, with police suspecting the murder is linked to his reporting on corruption

Bijapur: Three persons have been detained in connection with the murder of a 33-year-old journalist whose body was found in a septic tank on a local contractor’s property in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, police said on Saturday.

Mukesh Chandrakar, a freelance journalist, went missing on January 1, and his body was found on Friday in the septic tank on a property owned by contractor Suresh Chandrakar at Chattanpara Basti in Bijapur town.

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“Three persons have been detained in connection with the murder and are being interrogated,” an official here said. The police, however, did not disclose their names and said the details would be revealed later in the day.

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.

He went missing on Wednesday evening, and his elder brother Yukesh Chandrakar lodged a complaint with the police the next day, a senior police official said. Tracking Mukesh’s mobile number, police reached the property owned by Suresh Chandrakar and found the body in a septic tank, which was freshly cast with concrete slab, he said.

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.

Journalists 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.

The protesting journalists also sought the suspension or transfer of the Bijapur superintendent of police. Protestors have warned of an indefinite road blockade from Sunday if their demands are not met.