Chhattisgarh CM pledges building to Mukesh Chandrakar, Rs 10 lakh to family

Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai on 14 January, Tuesday, announced aid worth Rs 10 lakh to the kin of journalist Mukesh Chandrakar, who was murdered in Bijapur district earlier this month.

Talking to reporters at a helipad in Police Lines, Sai said a building will be constructed for scribes and named after the slain journalist.

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

Suresh Chandrakar, the prime accused, was arrested from Hyderabad on 5 January, while his brothers Ritesh and Dinesh and supervisor Mahendra Ramteke were arrested earlier.

Sai said, "The family of the deceased journalist will be given Rs 10 lakh assistance. A building will be constructed for journalists, and it will be named after him."

The special investigation team probing the case has said the accused, Suresh Chandrakar, the slain journalist's relative, was enraged after the latter published a news report highlighting alleged corruption in his road construction work in Bijapur.

Mukesh Chandrakar worked as a freelance journalist for the NDTV news channel and ran a YouTube channel, Bastar Junction, which has around 1.59 lakh subscribers.

He played a crucial role in the release of CoBRA commando Rakeshwar Singh Manhas from Maoist captivity in April 2021 following the Takalguda Naxal ambush in Bijapur, in which 22 security personnel died.

The Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) is a specialised jungle warfare unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

Deputy chief minister Vijay Sharma had earlier claimed that Suresh Chandrakar was a Congress leader. The opposition party, however, claimed he had recently joined the ruling BJP.

The state public works department (PWD) has suspended the accused road contractor's registration and cancelled contracts allotted to him.