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The Special Investigation Team investigating the murder of Mukesh Chandrakar, whose body was found in a septic tank last week, has said the journalist was killed by his cousins who were enraged by his reportage on corruption in road construction contracts, some of which involved them.
Mukesh, an independent journalist who also contributed to News Agency, practised his craft in Chhattisgarh's Bastar division, an area which is notoriously difficult for reporters.
The 32-year-old journalist was last seen leaving his home in Bijapur's Pujari Para on New Year's Day. His brother, Yukesh, filed a missing complaint the next day and informed the police about the last location updated on the journalist's phone: a shed owned by his cousin and contractor Suresh Chandrakar in Chhatan Para Basti, not very far from their home.
A note by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) said police found 17 rooms for workers, which were locked, and a newly cemented septic tank. Suresh claimed the tank was cemented as part of renovations, but officials grew suspicious.
Call detail records revealed that Mukesh's last two calls were from another cousin Ritesh Chandrakar, who is Suresh's brother. CCTV footage revealed that Ritesh was seen on January 2 at Kondagaon toll plaza and later at Raipur airport, boarding a flight to Delhi. This deepened suspicions.
Police then took Dinesh Chandrakar, another of Mukesh's cousins and brother of Suresh and Ritesh, into custody from Bijapur hospital. After hours of interrogation, he confessed that Ritesh and one of their supervisors, Mahendra Ramteke, murdered Mukesh using an iron rod and hid his body in the septic tank.
On January 3, police uncovered Mukesh's body from the septic tank, in the presence of forensics and administrative officials.
Strangled, Stabbed
Mukesh, the SIT note said, had exposed corruption in road construction contracts linked to his cousins, leading to investigations against Suresh. This angered Suresh, Ritesh, Dinesh and Mahendra, who hatched a plan to kill the journalist.
On January 1, Mukesh was lured to the shed by Ritesh on the pretext of having dinner together. He was beaten, strangled, and stabbed. The body was hidden in the septic tank, which was later sealed with cement.
Mukesh's phones were smashed and thrown into the Tumnar River to destroy evidence.
Suresh was arrested in Hyderabad on January 5 with the assistance of the Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh police.
The SIT note said tools like artificial intelligence and open source intelligence (OSINT) were used to analyse digital evidence, including over 100 call records and deleted mobile data.
The crime scene was recreated twice to verify the confessions. Forensic teams also recovered critical evidence, including the murder weapon and blood-stained clothes.