Main Accused in Chhattisgarh Journalist Murder Case Arrested in Hyderabad

Journalist Murder Case: The Chhattisgarh police arrested the local contractor Suresh Chandrakar who was the main accused in the murder of journalist Mukesh Chandrakar, officials said on Monday.

“The main accused of Mukesh Chandrakar’s murder, the local contractor Suresh Chandrakar, was arrested by SIT from Hyderabad in the wee hours of Monday. Interrogation of the accused is going on,” a statement issued by Bijapur police stated.

Mukesh Chandrakar (33), a freelance journalist, 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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The deceased worked as a freelance journalist for the NDTV news channel and ran a YouTube channel, 'Bastar Junction', with some 1.59 lakh subscribers.

According to police, the motive of his murder could be a news report where he highlighted alleged corruption in road construction work in Bijapur. The said construction work was linked to contractor Suresh Chandrakar.

The SIT, which was constituted to conduct the probe into the case, rounded up Suresh Chandrakar from Hyderabad late Sunday night, according to an official.

His brothers Ritesh Chandrakar and Dinesh Chandrakar and supervisor Mahendra Ramteke have already been arrested in the case.

Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma had claimed that Suresh Chandrakar was a Congress leader. The opposition party, however, claimed the accused joined the ruling BJP recently.

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Organisations representing news outlets have expressed shock over the death of the journalist, and urged the Chhattisgarh government to ensure a speedy investigation.

DIGIPUB, an association of digital news organisations, on Sunday demanded that the Chhattisgarh government should carry out a speedy investigation into the death and bring the culprits to justice.

“The public and the larger media community rarely consider the well-being of journalists reporting on vital public issues in small cities and remote towns at significant risk to themselves and their families,” DIGIPUB said. “This needs to change.”

The association also noted that India’s ranking on the press freedom index has declined rapidly in recent years. “Threats to the safety and security of journalists are not just posed by retaliatory action by the State, which has taken centre stage in the past ten years, but also by criminal elements, different kinds of mafia groups and local politicians,” it said.

Press Club of India urged the state government to look into the “long-standing demand of local journalists to enact a law to protect journalists”.

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