Conspiracy hatched four days before journalist’s murder: SIT

Main accused Suresh Chandrakar plotted journalist Mukesh Chandrakar's murder due to news report on road construction quality.

Suresh Chandrakar, the main accused in the murder of journalist Mukesh Chandrakar, had hatched a conspiracy to murder the scribe four to five days before the incident, investigators in Chattisgarh said on Thursday (January 9, 2024).

Mukesh’s body was found on January 3 inside a septic tank in a shed owned by road construction contractor Suresh in Bastar region. So far, Suresh Chandrakar, his brothers Dinesh and Ritesh and their employee Mahendra Ramteke have been arrested in connection with the incident.

In a detailed release on the findings so far, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case said that in his custodial interrogation, the accused have admitted that Suresh, a contractor, was angry with Mukesh because the latter was publishing news against Suresh’s contract work despite being their relative. The news report on news channel NDTV had led to an investigation into the poor quality of a road constructed by Suresh.

Further investigation into the case has revealed that Mukesh was killed between 8.30 p.m. and 10 p.m. on January 1 when Ritesh and Mahendra attacked Mukesh with an iron rod, inflicting fatal injuries in Room No. 11 of the 17 rooms in the shed. Subsequently, the body was thrown into the septic tank, which was covered with a concrete slab. “Dinesh Chandrakar came after the incident in the night itself to hide the evidence and help them escape as per the pre-planned scheme of Suresh Chandrakar,” the statement said, while giving details about the role of Dinesh.

On the alleged cover-up after the murder, the police said the iron rod used in the incident and other physical evidence related to the incident were hidden by the accused.

“The accused Ritesh Chandrakar, Mahendra Ramteke and Dinesh Chandrakar, as part of a conspiracy, kept late Mukesh Chandrakar’s two mobile phones in working condition till the Tumnar river, so that during the police investigation, the police could see the last location towards the Tumnar river. After going there, they smashed the mobile phones with stones and threw them in the river. They were searched by divers and other means,” the statement added.

Police also said that a large amount withdrawn by Suresh from his bank account on December 27 (two days after the report was aired) and four days before Mukesh was murdered is also under the purview of investigation in respect of which “a detailed investigation is being done by the SIT”.