Journalist’s murder case: Chhattisgarh PWD suspends contractor’s registration

The main accused Suresh Chandrakar was arrested by a Special Investigation Team from Hyderabad on Jan 5

Bijapur: Chhattisgarh Public Works Department (PWD) has suspended the registration of construction contractor Suresh Chandrakar, the main accused in the murder of a journalist in Bijapur district, officials said on Tuesday.

Freelance journalist Mukesh Chandrakar (33) went missing on January 1. His body was found on January 3 in a septic tank on a property owned by Suresh Chandrakar at Chattanpara Basti in Bijapur town, police earlier said.

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Suresh Chandrakar, who was absconding since the murder came to light on January 3, was arrested by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) from Hyderabad on Sunday night, police said.

After his arrest, the chief engineer of PWD Bastar circle, Jagdalpur, recommended to suspend the registration of Suresh Chandrakar, who was enrolled as ‘A’ category contractor with the department, an official here said.
Based on the recommendation, the department suspended his registration on Monday, the PWD official added.

Suresh Chandrakar’s brothers Ritesh Chandrakar and Dinesh Chandrakar and supervisor Mahendra Ramteke have already been arrested in the case, he said.
Mukesh Chandrakar worked as a freelance journalist for the NDTV news channel and also ran a YouTube channel, ‘Bastar Junction’, which has some 1.59 lakh subscribers.