Chhattisgarh journalist’s murder: Cousin arrested; Congress, BJP trade charges

NEW DELHI: In a shocking twist in the murder of Chhattisgarh journalist Mukesh Chandrakar, his own cousin has been arrested in the case even as the incident triggered a political slugfest between the BJP government and Opposition Congress. An 11-member SIT has been formed to investigate the murder.

Three persons, including Chandrakar’s cousin Ritesh, were arrested. The 28-year-old journalist’s body was found in a septic tank, three days after he went missing. Chandrakar had recently done an expose of an alleged corruption scandal involving a Rs 120-crore road construction project from Gangaloor to Nelasanar village in Bastar. The project, worth of which went from ?50 crore to Rs 120 crore without any changes to the effect of the work’s scope, was reportedly being handled by contractor Suresh Chandrakar. The journalist’s expose led the state government to launch an inquiry into the project, creating several obstacles for the contractor lobby in the region.

Chandrakar was missing since January 1. His family reported him missing after his phone was turned off following a meeting arranged by contractor Suresh Chandrakar’s brother, Ritesh, at one of their properties. Chandrakar’s elder brother filed a complaint, prompting the police to initiate a search in which authorities reviewed CCTV footage and identified his last known location. His body was found on Friday in a septic tank at the property of Suresh in Chattanpara Basti. IG Bastar P Sundarraj said that Ritesh Chandrakar, the brother of contractor was arrested in Raipur. The police also arrested another family member, Dinesh Chandrakar and another individual, identified as Mahendra Ramteke. However, Suresh, the contractor at the centre of the corruption scandal, remains at large.