RAIPUR: Bastar police have arrested three accused in the murder case of Bijapur Journalist Mukesh Chandrakarand police they were shown up before the media on Saturday, stating that one of the arrested accused was a distant relative of the deceased.
Bastar journalists mourning and in shock with the brutal murder of their colleague Mukesh Chandrakar and as a mark of protest, the citizens of Bijapur have spontaneously called for a city-wide shutdown and road blockade. The journalists are demanding the immediate arrest of all the murderers involved in the case.
Addressing the reporters in Bijapur, Bastar range inspector general of police P Sundarraj said that accused Ritesh Chandrakar was arrested from Raipur airport and two others from Bijapur. Narrating the sequence of event, IG Sundarraj said, “Police investigation revealed that the deceased Mukesh Chandrakar and Ritesh Chandrakar were distant brothers and the duo frequently interacted and met over family and social issues.
On the night of crime on Jan 1, Mukesh got a call from Ritesh around 8 pm and the duo went to property of Suresh Chandrakar in Chattan Parato have dinner.” It seemed that Mukesh and Ritesh entered into an argument as Ritesh referring to the road corruption news, accused Mukesh of creating hindrance in his construction work, despite being a relative, IG said.
“The argument got heated up and Ritesh along with his supervisor Mahendra Ramteke, attacked Mukesh with an iron rod, leading to his death on the spot. They then dumped the body in a septic tank and closed the lid,” Sundarraj said. Ritesh then called his elder brother Dinesh who was in Jagdalpur along with their brother Suresh and other relatives. Dinesh immediately left for Bodli (a village between Jagdalpur and Bijapur) where Ritesh and Ramteke also reached. The trio then hatched conspiracy to destruct evidences, the police said.
“Accused Ritesh, Ramteke and Dinesh went to different places to dispose of the weapon used in the offence and the mobile of Mukesh. Ritesh told his elder brother Dinesh to cast fresh slab over the septic tank and he then fled to Raipur in his elder brother Suresh Chandrakar’svehicle. He then parked his car at Raipur airport and flew to New Delhi on the evening of January 2,” IG elaborated. Mukesh went missing at around 8:30 pm on Jan 1, and his elder brother Yukesh lodged a complaint with the police the next day evening, he said.
IG added that in the initial investigation, relatives and media colleagues of Mukesh were inquired about his disappearance, and the mobile tower locations of suspected individuals were retrieved. Based on the deceased last known location, all rooms at the premises of contractor Suresh Chandrakar in Chattan Para were inspected on Jan 2 but nothing was found.
“On January 3, fearing the worst, the freshly cemented septic tank near the badminton court at Suresh Chandrakar’s premises was examined. In the presence of senior officials, the slab over the septic tank was dismantled and lid of the old septic tank was opened wherein a male body was spotted which was later identified to be of Mukesh Chandrakar,” said the IG.
The deceased had injuries on the forehead, back, stomach, and chest caused by a hard and blunt object. A case was registered under sections 103, 238, 61, 3 (5) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against the accused, he said, adding that four teams were constituted to trace Suresh Chandrakar who is at large. IG said that no accused involved in the murder of Mukesh Chandrakar will be spared.
The SIT team constituted for the investigation will investigate on the basis of scientific and technical evidence and will submit the charge sheet for prosecution in the court as soon as possible, he added.
Countering the claims of Deputy CM Sharma, Head of state Congress communication wing Sushil Anand Shukla said, murder accused Suresh Chandrakar was inducted into BJP. “Murder accused Suresh Chandrakar had joined BJP. There are photos of him with senior BJP leaders of Bijapur and former BJP president of Bijapur G Venkat. Suresh had also visited CM House 10 days ago and CCTV footage of CM House should also be made public. List of visitors of CM House for 15 days should be made public,” he said.
A criminal is a criminal, strict action should be taken against the person who has committed the crime. Whether he is a Congress member, or a BJP one, or a leader of any other party, who has committed the crime is a criminal, he said. “Why is the corruption of contractor Suresh Chandrakarexposed by Mukesh Chandrakar not being discussed? Is it possible to make 90% advance payment in a road contract worth Rs 120 crore without the protection of ministers and people in power?
The contractor has whose protection. When will action be taken against those people from the ruling party,” Shukla asked. Congress demanded resignation of Deputy CMs Vijay Sharma and Arun Sao. Congress also sought financial assistance of Rs 1 crore and government job to kin of Mukesh Chandrakar.
