The man accused of plotting the murder of journalist Mukesh Chandrakar, whose body was found in a septic tank in Chhattisgarh last week, was arrested in Hyderabad on Sunday night. Suresh Chandrakar, a distant relative of the journalist and a contractor, is believed to be the mastermind behind the murder. He had been missing since the murder came to light.
According to the police, Suresh Chandrakar was hiding at his driver’s home in Hyderabad. To track him, the police reviewed footage from 200 CCTVs and traced nearly 300 mobile numbers.
The police are currently questioning him, officials said.
Earlier, four bank accounts linked to Suresh Chandrakar were frozen and an illegally constructed yard owned by him was demolished.
Suresh Chandrakar’s wife has also been taken into custody in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district and is being interrogated, officials added.
Mukesh Chandrakar’s body was found in a septic tank in a shed owned by a contractor in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar last week. The independent journalist, who was also a contributing reporter for NDTV, was last seen leaving his home in Bijapur 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, not very far from his home.
According to a post mortem report, Mukesh Chandrakar was attacked with a heavy object and suffered severe injuries to his head, chest, back, and stomach. His body was identified through a tattoo on his hand.
Three PERSONS, including two of Chandrakar’s relatives, have 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. They also disposed of Chandrakar’s phone and the iron rod with which they killed him.
While Dinesh Chandrakar allegedly supervised the cementing of the tank, Suresh Chandrakar was believed to BE the person who came up with the plan.
Condolences pour in
Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma called Mukesh Chandrakar’s murder “terrible, painful, and utterly wrong”. He also assured strong action.
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.
