A very tragic and troubling incident has come to light from Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district. The body of a 33-year-old journalist was found in a septic tank. This comes after he exposed corruption in a ₹120-crore road construction project in Bastar.
The body was found on the property of a local contractor in Chhattisgarh on January 3, 2025. The Journalist was identified as Mukesh Chandrakar. The news of his death has sent shockwaves across the state and the journalism fraternity. It has also raised serious concerns over the safety of reporters who investigate corruption.
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The Chhattisgarh Police have detained three individuals for questioning in connection with the case. The police, however, did not disclose their names and said the details would be revealed later in the day.
Jitendra Yadav Bijapur Superintendent of Police said “Mukesh’s body was recovered from the septic tank at 5 pm. The contractor’s employees live on the premises, and several people, including Suresh Chandrakar. They all are being questioned. We are investigating if Mukesh’s death is linked to any of his recent stories. The accused will be apprehended soon”.
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The police also informed that Mukesh’s body was discovered after officers tracked his last known mobile location. His last location is also said to be a compound built at the contractor’s place. A property owned by contractor Suresh Chandrakar in Chattanpara Basti.
Raipur’s senior journalist Sunil Kumar informed that the septic tank from where the body was discovered had been freshly sealed with a concrete slab. This made the police suspicious. Following this, a team of Forensic experts were also called to the scene for the investigation which is now ongoing.
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Who was Mukesh Chandrakar?
Mukesh Chandrakar runs a YouTube channel named ‘Bastar Junction’ which has 1.61 lakh subscribers. His channel focused on issues affecting the tribal community and the region’s conflict with Naxal forces.
He had been missing since the night of January 1. Mukesh was also associated with a national channel. Several Journalists from Chhattisgarh allege that Mukesh had reported corruption in road construction against contractor Suresh Chandrakar.
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The visuals of the body recovered from the septic tank have also surfaced on social media. Keeping in mind the YouTube guidelines and the gruesomeness of the pictures it cannot be shown here. His body had injuries to the head and back. It was identified with the help of his clothing.
After Mukesh went missing on January 1 his elder brother Yukesh filed a missing person report in the Bijapur City police station. In the application, he mentioned Mukesh’s last conversation with journalist Nilesh Tripathi.
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Yukesh said, “Nilesh Tripathi told me that Ritesh Chandrakar, contractor Suresh’s brother was coming to meet Mukesh. He also said Mukesh himself gave this information to Nilesh by calling him at around 6:30 pm on January 1.”
After the complaint, the Bijapur Superintendent of Police (SP) formed a team and started the investigation. During the search, on the evening of January 3, the body was discovered. Suspicions grew larger as Mukesh had recently covered a series of investigative reports.
What was in this Report?
This includes exposing corruption in a ₹120-crore road construction project in Bastar. Mukesh Chandrakar has reported to several news channels including NDTV.
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According to this report, there has been corruption in the construction of the road being built from Gangalur to Nelsnar in Bijapur. The report said that there were around ’35 potholes’ in a radius of just one kilometer. Apart from this, the quality of the material used in the road construction was said to be ‘very poor’.
After the publication of this report, the government ordered an inquiry into the activities of the contractor lobby in the region. Jagdalpur Public Works Department also formed an investigation committee to investigate the matter.
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Following the incident a war of words has erupted between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP on Saturday alleged that Suresh Chandrakar was a close aide of state Congress president, Deepak Baij. They also posted pictures of Baij with Chandrakar.
“कांट्रेक्टर है या कांग्रेसी कांट्रैक्ट किलर!!”
घृणित येन-केन-प्रकारेण की राजनीति के परिचायक कांग्रेसियों… ज़रा अपने गिरेबाँ पर झांककर देखो, क्या जल्दबाज़ी में तुमने अपना ही कच्चा चिट्ठा खोल दिया है!!
बीजापुर के युवा पत्रकार स्व. मुकेश चंद्राकर जी की हत्या का मुख्य आरोपी… https://t.co/VfYnOuB5YE pic.twitter.com/yfkb0soYg5
— BJP Chhattisgarh (@BJP4CGState) January 3, 2025
The BJP’s Chhattisgarh unit in a post on X wrote, “It was Deepak Baij who honored Suresh with the post of State Secretary of SC Morcha of Congress Party. Various kinds of criminal goods are being sold from the so-called ‘Mohabbat ki dukaan’ (shop of love) of Congress after all, all the salesmen are criminals.”
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The Congress party countered the BJP’s allegations. In a post on X, it wrote: BJP’s jungle raj in Chhattisgarh. No one is safe in BJP’s jungle raj. Law and order is completely destroyed. It is not expected that the media will show this news and question the BJP government. Because ‘Sab Changa Si’ mode is on in the media. We demand that strict action be taken in this case. Journalist Mukesh’s family should get justice soon.”
Furthermore, Congress state president Deepak Baij said, “Under the BJP rule, journalists are paying the price of journalism with their lives.”
स्तब्ध हूँ…
दुःखद है की भाजपा राज में पत्रकारों को पत्रकारिता करने की कीमत अपनी जान से चुकानी पड़ रही है।
1 जनवरी से लापता हुए बस्तर के तेजतर्रार पत्रकार मुकेश चंद्राकर का शव आज सेप्टिक टैंक में मिला है जो की बेहद डराने वाली खबर है।
मुकेश चंद्राकर जी ANI,NDTV, News 24 जैसे… pic.twitter.com/m1IcFxYKSk
— Deepak Baij (@DeepakBaijINC) January 3, 2025
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Chhattisgarh’s Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai condemned the incident. He described it as an “irreparable loss to journalism and society.”In a social media post, Sai wrote “The news of the murder of Bijapur’s young and dedicated journalist Mukesh Chandrakar ji is extremely sad and heartbreaking. The culprit of this incident will not be spared under any circumstances.”
Anurag Dwary, the resident editor of NDTV, praised Mukesh’s dedication and called for action to ensure justice. Dwary said, “This is a stark reminder of the risks journalists face every day. Mukesh’s commitment will not be forgotten”.
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The Editors Guild of India is deeply disturbed by the reports of the suspected murder of Mr. Mukesh Chandrakar. Their statement read: “The young journalist’s death is a matter of grave concern as it raises suspicion of foul play. The Editors Guild calls on the government of Chhattisgarh to spare no efforts in investigating the case speedily and bringing the guilty to book.”
According to reports, Mukesh and his elder brother Yukesh, also a journalist, had supported each other after losing their parents at a young age. Colleagues describe Mukesh as fearless, dedicated, and deeply passionate about uncovering the truth, even in the face of significant personal risk.
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